Parasite modification of predator functional response.

Parasite alteration of the host (predator) functional response provides a mechanism by which parasites can alter predator-prey population dynamics and stability. We tested the hypothesis that parasitic infection of a crab (Eurypanopeus depressus) by a rhizocephalan barnacle (Loxothylacus panopei) can modify the crab's functional response to mussel (Brachidontes exustus) prey and investigated behavioral mechanisms behind a potential change in the response. Infection dramatically reduced mussel consumption by crabs across mussel densities, resulting in a decreased attack rate parameter and a nearly eightfold reduction in maximum consumption (i.e. the asymptote, or inverse of the handling time parameter) in a type II functional response model. To test whether increased handling time of infected crabs drove the decrease in maximum consumption rate, we independently measured handling time through observation. Infection had no effect on handling time and thus could not explain the reduction in consumption. Infection did, however, increase the time that it took crabs to begin handling prey after the start of the handling time experiment. Furthermore, crabs harboring relatively larger parasites remained inactive longer before making contact with prey. This behavioral modification likely contributed to the reduced mussel consumption of infected crabs. A field survey revealed that 20% of crabs inhabiting oyster reefs at the study site (North Inlet estuary, Georgetown, South Carolina, USA) are infected by the barnacle parasite, indicating that parasite infection could have a substantial effect on the population level crab-mussel interaction.