Rea J G, Irwin S W
Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Ireland.
Parasitology. 1994;109 Suppl:S31-9. doi: 10.1017/s0031182000085061.
Host location by parasites can be achieved by either active or passive mechanisms. In spite of their significance, the efficacy of these methods has been little researched. High fecundity in parasites is discussed in terms of the role it plays in dispersal and transmission. Some concepts developed by mainstream behavioural ecologists are outlined and their relevance to parasitology is indicated. 'Reproductive value' is recommended as an appropriate measure of the costs and benefits of behavioural cts. Although costs of reproduction have been rarely studied in parasites, they are likely to occur in cosexual insects, nematodes and crustaceans. Experiments using captive hosts and/or in vitro cultivation could help in the construction of realistic optimality models. We suggest that r- and K-selection theory could assist in the study of the evolution of parasite behaviour. We discuss how parasite populations are dispersed and controlled and consider the implications of overdispersion. We outline three sources of signals to which parasites may respond and suggest that understanding evolutionary mechanisms and community organisation of parasites and hosts requires evaluation of fundamental behavioural responses to environmental signals. The study of closely related groups of parasites and their hosts may advance our knowledge of the evolution of parasite life cycles and the evolutionary costs and benefits of behavioural acts.
寄生虫找到宿主可通过主动或被动机制来实现。尽管这些机制很重要，但对其有效性的研究却很少。寄生虫的高繁殖力是从其在传播和扩散中所起的作用方面来讨论的。文中概述了主流行为生态学家提出的一些概念，并指出了它们与寄生虫学的相关性。“繁殖价值”被推荐为衡量行为成本和收益的合适尺度。虽然寄生虫繁殖成本很少被研究，但在两性昆虫、线虫和甲壳类动物中可能会出现。使用圈养宿主和/或体外培养的实验有助于构建现实的最优模型。我们认为r-选择和K-选择理论有助于寄生虫行为进化的研究。我们讨论了寄生虫种群是如何扩散和控制的，并考虑了过度分散的影响。我们概述了寄生虫可能做出反应的三种信号来源，并指出理解寄生虫和宿主的进化机制及群落组织需要评估对环境信号的基本行为反应。对亲缘关系密切的寄生虫及其宿主群体的研究可能会增进我们对寄生虫生命周期进化以及行为活动的进化成本和收益的了解。
