According to an analysis of more than 200 wolves, wolves with parasites are more likely to lead a pack. Animals with infectious diseases are more likely to leave their homes.
The parasites make their hosts bold in order to increase their survival. To reproduce sexually, T. gondii needs to reach the cat's body. If the parasites change the host's behavior it will be foolish. In rodents, infections tend to correlate with decreased fear of cats. The production of testosterone and dopamine in people has been found to increase.
Warm-blooded mammals can catch the parasites by eating them. Semi-dormant cysts form in the brain and muscles after a period of acute infections. It's possible that up to one third of humans are chronically infectious.
Few studies have examined T. gondii's behavioral effects. In one work, it was found that lions were more likely to eat sick hyenas in Africa. Over the course of 27 years, data on grey wolves in Wyoming have been collected by the University of Montana's wildlife ecology team. Some wolves in the area are known to steal prey from the Puma concolor. Wolves could get sick if they eat the cats' faeces.
The team looked at blood samples from 229 wolves and recorded their life histories and social status. They found that wolves with infections were more likely to leave their birth family to start a new pack and more likely to become pack leaders.
Meyer says that they stared at each other after getting that result. We thought it would be smaller. The work is in a journal.
The study provides compelling evidence of the profound influence that pathogens can have on the ecology and behavior of wild animal populations, according to Dan Macnulty, a wolf Biologist at Utah State University. It shows how valuable the long-term study of wolves and other wildlife is in the park.
In the future, the team hopes to look at how infections might affect the reproduction of wolves. Wolf populations with high rates of T. gondii may expand more quickly as individual wolves decide to leave the area. Pack leaders who are aggressive and risk-taking could have an effect on how entire packs act.
The moral of the story is that parasites can play a role in the environment. He says that parasites might have a bigger role than people think.
Even though wolves are known for killing animals, they are not likely to end up as food for the cats. He thinks that American lions could have preyed on wolves in the past, since they weighed around 200 kilograms.
Permission is granted for this article to be reproduced.
You can sign up for Scientific American's newsletters.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
