Is There Such Thing as a Parasite Free Lunch? The Direct and Indirect Consequences of Eating Invasive Prey

As the number of invasive species increases globally, more and more native predators are reported to shift their diet toward invasive prey. The consequences of such diet shifts for the health of populations of native predators are poorly studied, but diet shifts are expected to have important parasi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:EcoHealth 2012-03, Vol.9 (1), p.6-16
Main Authors: Bulté, Grégory, Robinson, Stacey A, Forbes, Mark R, Marcogliese, David. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Ecology
Animals
Contaminants
Diet
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Environmental Health
experimental design
Feeding Behavior - physiology
Food Parasitology
Forum
Host-Parasite Interactions - physiology
ingestion
Introduced Species
Invasive species
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Microbiology
Nonnative species
Parasites
Parasitism
Parasitology
Predation
Predators
Predatory Behavior - physiology
Prey
Public Health
Risk Factors
Toxicology
Water and Health
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Summary:As the number of invasive species increases globally, more and more native predators are reported to shift their diet toward invasive prey. The consequences of such diet shifts for the health of populations of native predators are poorly studied, but diet shifts are expected to have important parasitological and immunological consequences, ultimately affecting predator fitness. We reviewed evidence that diet shifts from native to invasive prey can alter parasite exposure directly and also indirectly affect immune functions via changes in condition and contaminant exposure. We highlight relevant conceptual and methodological tools that should be used for the design of experiments aimed at exploring important links between invasive prey and parasitism, contaminants and fitness of their native predators.
ISSN:1612-9202
1612-9210
DOI:10.1007/s10393-012-0757-7