Temperature rise and parasitic infection interact to increase the impact of an invasive species. Issue 5 (April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Laverty, Ciaran; Brenner, David; McIlwaine, Christopher; Lennon, Jack J.; Dick, Jaimie T.A.; Lucy, Frances E.; Christian, Keith A.
• Is Part Of: International journal for parasitology. Volume 47:Issue 5(2017)
• Page Start: 291
• Page End: 296
• Publication Date: 2017-04
• Subjects: Invasive species -- Parasitic infection -- Temperature -- Climate change -- Ecological impact; Parasitology -- Periodicals; Parasitology -- Periodicals; Parasitologie -- Périodiques; Parasitology; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 571.999
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.12.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-7519

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: First known study to examine the interaction between temperature and parasitic infection using functional responses. Parasites may have significant impacts on predator/prey dynamics driven by climate change. Impacts of Gammarus pulex in native and invasive ranges will increase due to parasitic infection and temperature rise. Abstract: Invasive species often detrimentally impact native biota, e.g. through predation, but predicting such impacts is difficult due to multiple and perhaps interacting abiotic and biotic context dependencies. Higher mean and peak temperatures, together with parasites, might influence the impact of predatory invasive host species additively, synergistically or antagonistically. Here, we apply the comparative functional response methodology (relationship between resource consumption rate and resource supply) in one experiment and conduct a second scaled-up mesocosm experiment to assess any differential predatory impacts of the freshwater invasive amphipod Gammarus pulex, when uninfected and infected with the acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus truttae, at three temperatures representative of current and future climate. Individual G. pulex showed Type II predatory functional responses. In both experiments, infection was associated with higher maximum feeding rates, which also increased with increasing temperatures. Additionally, infection interacted with higher temperatures to synergistically elevate functional responses and feeding rates. Parasitic infection also generally increased Q 10 values. We thus suggest that the differential metabolic responses of the host and parasite to increasing temperatures drives the synergy between infection and temperature, elevating feeding rates and thus enhancing the ecological impact of the invader.