Spatial variation in food supply, mating behavior, and sexually transmitted disease epidemics

Autor:	Gregory D. D. Hurst, David Atkinson, Michael J. Bottery, Jonathan James Ryder, Mike Boots, M.-J. Hoare, Daria Pastok, Robert K. Knell
Rok vydání:	2012
Předmět:	Sexually transmitted disease Adalia bipunctata biology Ecology biology.organism_classification law.invention Spatial heterogeneity Transmission (mechanics) Habitat law Biological dispersal Animal Science and Zoology Spatial variability Mating Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics
Zdroj:	Ryder, J J, Pastok, D, Hoare, M-J, Bottery, M, Boots, M, Knell, R K, Atkinson, D & Hurst, G D D 2013, ' Spatial variation in food supply, mating behavior, and sexually transmitted disease epidemics ', Behavioral Ecology, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 723–729 . https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars209
ISSN:	1465-7279 1045-2249
DOI:	10.1093/beheco/ars209
Popis:	Mating behavior helps to shape the epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by determining the rate at which infectious and susceptible individuals make contact. To the extent that mating behavior shows spatial variation, it is expected that STI epidemics will also show spatial heterogeneity (provided that dispersal is limited). However, empirical data are lacking for natural systems. Here, therefore, we investigate the association between local mating behavior and STI epidemiology in natural populations of the two-spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctata, and dissect the causes of this variation. Variation in mating behavior was observed over local and regional spatial scales and high mating rate led to stronger local epidemics of the STI. Initial ecological observations suggested that reduced mating rate was associated largely with low food supply (and possibly to a lesser extent with local population density) and not with differences in thermal environment. We tested the potential role of food supply in fuelling STI epidemics in laboratory populations and confirmed that high food provision led to greater STI transmission. We conclude that food supply is strongly associated with mating rate in the field and that this produces heterogeneity in STI epidemiology. A consequence is that STI-induced sterility will reduce reproduction in habitat patches of high food quality.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::2491d4dfd7d83d7b700cfa9db81eb6cb https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars209 Zobrazit plný text záznamu