Unseen and silent, gut parasites subtly influence their plant-eating hosts’ feeding rates, which have a substantial impact on surrounding vegetation.
Interactions between species have long been known to ripple through ecosystems, indirectly impacting other parts of the food web. When predators eat herbivores, for example, a reduction in plant-eating mouths leads to changes in the plant community.
Parasites like this brown stomach worm , shown in an SEM image, are common residents of the guts of ruminants such as sheep, cattle and deer.The researchers looked to caribou . Using data from published studies, Koltz and her team developed a series of mathematical simulations to test how caribou survival, reproduction and feeding rate could be influenced by stomach worm infections.
The team also analyzed data from 59 studies on 18 species of ruminants and their parasites, gathering information on how the parasites impact host feeding rates and body mass. The analysis found that chronic parasitic infections generally cause many types of herbivores to eat less, also reducing their body mass and fat reserves.
The study “highlights that there are widespread interactions that we’re not considering in ecosystem contexts quite yet, but we should be,” Koltz says.
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