Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Interactions between micro- and macroparasites predict microparasite species richness across primates.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Nunn, CL; Brezine, C; Jolles, AE; Ezenwa, VO
Published in: The American naturalist
April 2014

Most wild animals face concurrent challenges by multiple infectious organisms, and immunological responses triggered by some parasites may increase susceptibility to other infectious agents. Immune-mediated interactions among parasites have been investigated among individuals in a population, but less is known about broader comparative patterns. We investigated the "macro-micro facilitation hypothesis" that higher helminth prevalence in a host species provides greater opportunities for intracellular parasites to invade, resulting in higher richness of intracellular microparasites. We obtained data on average helminth prevalence for 70 primate hosts, along with data on richness of intra- and extracellular infectious organisms. Using Bayesian phylogenetic methods, we found that primate species with higher overall helminth prevalence harbored more species of intracellular microparasites, while the positive association between helminth prevalence and extracellular microparasite species richness was weaker. The relationships held after controlling for potentially confounding variables, but associations were not found in focused tests of prevalence for six genera of well-studied helminths. The magnitude of support and effect sizes for overall helminth prevalence on intracellular microparasite species richness was similar to support for other well recognized ecological and life-history drivers of parasite species richness. Our findings therefore suggest that intrahost parasite interactions are as important as some ecological characteristics of hosts in accounting for parasite richness across host species.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

The American naturalist

DOI

EISSN

1537-5323

ISSN

0003-0147

Publication Date

April 2014

Volume

183

Issue

4

Start / End Page

494 / 505

Related Subject Headings

  • Primates
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • Helminths
  • Female
  • Ecology
  • Biodiversity
  • Animals
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Nunn, C. L., Brezine, C., Jolles, A. E., & Ezenwa, V. O. (2014). Interactions between micro- and macroparasites predict microparasite species richness across primates. The American Naturalist, 183(4), 494–505. https://doi.org/10.1086/675362
Nunn, Charles L., Carrie Brezine, Anna E. Jolles, and Vanessa O. Ezenwa. “Interactions between micro- and macroparasites predict microparasite species richness across primates.The American Naturalist 183, no. 4 (April 2014): 494–505. https://doi.org/10.1086/675362.
Nunn CL, Brezine C, Jolles AE, Ezenwa VO. Interactions between micro- and macroparasites predict microparasite species richness across primates. The American naturalist. 2014 Apr;183(4):494–505.
Nunn, Charles L., et al. “Interactions between micro- and macroparasites predict microparasite species richness across primates.The American Naturalist, vol. 183, no. 4, Apr. 2014, pp. 494–505. Epmc, doi:10.1086/675362.
Nunn CL, Brezine C, Jolles AE, Ezenwa VO. Interactions between micro- and macroparasites predict microparasite species richness across primates. The American naturalist. 2014 Apr;183(4):494–505.
Journal cover image

Published In

The American naturalist

DOI

EISSN

1537-5323

ISSN

0003-0147

Publication Date

April 2014

Volume

183

Issue

4

Start / End Page

494 / 505

Related Subject Headings

  • Primates
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • Helminths
  • Female
  • Ecology
  • Biodiversity
  • Animals
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences