Behavioral adjustments of a pipefish to bacterial Vibrio challenge

Animals can profit from increasing temperatures by prolonged breeding seasons and faster growth rates. However, these fitness benefits are traded off against higher parasite load and increased virulence of temperature-sensitive pathogens. In thermally stratified habitats, behavioral plasticity can a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2012-10, Vol.66 (10), p.1399-1405
Main Authors: Landis, Susanne H., Sundin, Josefin, Rosenqvist, Gunilla, Roth, Olivia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal Ecology
Animal populations
Bacteria
Behavioral chills
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Breeding seasons
Cold water
Female animals
Fish
Global warming
Habitats
Host-parasite
Infections
Life Sciences
Load distribution
Male animals
Ocean temperature
Original Paper
Parasite hosts
Parasites
Pathogens
Plasticity
Reproduction
Syngnathus typhle
Temperature
Vibrio
Vibrio spp
Water temperature
Zoology
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Summary:Animals can profit from increasing temperatures by prolonged breeding seasons and faster growth rates. However, these fitness benefits are traded off against higher parasite load and increased virulence of temperature-sensitive pathogens. In thermally stratified habitats, behavioral plasticity can allow hosts to choose the optimal temperature to enhance individual fitness and to escape parasite pressure. To test this idea, we performed a temperature choice experiment with the host—parasite system of the sex-role reversed broad-nosed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle) and its bacterial pathogen Vibrio spp. In this species, pregnant males are expected to face a trade-off between shortening their brooding period in warm water and decreasing the effect of the infection in cold water. We found that exposure to Vibrio changed the temperature preference for both pregnant and nonpregnant males, as well as females compared to nonchallenged fish that tended to prefer warm water. This study shows that behavioral plasticity is one option for avoidance of higher bacterial prevalence, as expected due to rising ocean temperatures.
ISSN:0340-5443
1432-0762
1432-0762
DOI:10.1007/s00265-012-1395-3