Projektet syftar att undersöka hur individ med olika personlighets typer påverkas av parasit-infektioner. Som modelsystem kommer storspigg och parasiten Schistocephalus solidusatt användas.

Host-manipulation by parasites - how does S. solidus mediate behavioural changes in infected sticklebacks?

Parasites can generate changes in their hosts ranging from subtle to complex, through mechanisms we poorly understand. A well-studied parasite-host relationship in evolution and ecology is the stickleback and it’s common parasite, the tapeworm Schistocephalus solidus. Infected sticklebacks not only have been shown to behave differently compared to uninfected fish, but also to have altered brain monoamines.

In the here propose project, we aim to investigate whether these observed differences between infected and uninfected individuals are:
(i) a side-effect of dietary stress,
(ii) due to that fish of certain personality types are more prone to infection, or
(iii) a consequence of direct manipulation via neuromodulation by the parasite.
This will be achieved through a combination of behavioural analyses of parasitized and un-parasitized fish under natural, or improved feeding regimes (i.e. reducing the potential dietary stress infected fish may have), together with brain hormone assays.

Linköpings universitet, IFM

Hanne Lövlie, forskare, hanne.lovlie@liu.se

Uppsala universitet, IMBIM, BMC

Alex Hayward, forskare, alexander.hayward@imbim.uu.se

Ett samarbete med: Bertil Borg, forskare, Zoologi, Stockholm universitet, Svante Winberg, forskare, Neurobiologi, Uppsala Universitet, Niclas Kolm, forskare, Zooekologi, EBC, Uppsala universitet