Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, 501 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, 501 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Departmant of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
J Theor Biol. 2021 Oct 7;526:110789. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2021.110789. Epub 2021 Jun 1.
Parasites can alter the behavior of animals. Such alterations could be a byproduct of infection or actively controlled and directed by the parasite. Ants infected with zombie ant fungi (Ophiocordyceps sp.) show behavioral changes culminating in the ant dying while biting into vegetation. To investigate the influence of the parasite on behavioral changes, we created an agent-based model that provides a prediction of how fungal infected ants move before death. The model shows how alterations in movement, such as an increased turning rate, within the normal range of ant behavior, can lead a host from the nest to the underside of a leaf. This demonstrates the simplicity in how such behavioral changes could evolve, as the fungal parasite could benefit from the natural behavior of the host, contesting a hypothesis of highly directed manipulation.
寄生虫可以改变动物的行为。这种改变可能是感染的副产品，也可能是由寄生虫主动控制和指导的。感染僵尸蚂蚁真菌（Ophiocordyceps sp.）的蚂蚁会表现出行为变化，最终蚂蚁在咬住植物时死亡。为了研究寄生虫对行为变化的影响，我们创建了一个基于代理的模型，该模型可以预测感染真菌的蚂蚁在死亡前的移动方式。该模型表明，蚂蚁行为正常范围内的运动变化（例如，转弯率增加）如何使宿主从巢穴移动到叶子的背面。这表明这种行为变化是如何简单地进化的，因为真菌寄生虫可以从宿主的自然行为中受益，从而反驳了高度定向操纵的假说。
