ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2017
Rapid evolution rescues hosts from competition and disease but-despite a dilution effect-increases the density of infected hosts.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Host genetic diversity limits parasite success beyond agricultural systems: a meta-analysis.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Pooled it
- A Conceptual Disease Cycle Model to Link the Size of Past and Future Epidemics.Ecology and evolution · 2025Review
- Warming During Different Life Stages has Distinct Impacts on Host Resistance Ecology and Evolution.Ecology letters · 2025Article
- A Two-Locus System with Strong Epistasis Underlies Rapid Parasite-Mediated Evolution of Host Resistance.Molecular biology and evolution · 2021Article
- Does genetic diversity protect host populations from parasites? A meta-analysis across natural and agricultural systems.Evolution letters · 2021Article
- A high-throughput method to quantify feeding rates in aquatic organisms: A case study withEcology and evolution · 2020Article
- First Genome Sequence of the Gunnison's Prairie Dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), a Keystone Species and Player in the Transmission of Sylvatic Plague.Genome biology and evolution · 2020Article
- Genotypic variation in parasite avoidance behaviour and other mechanistic, nonlinear components of transmission.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
- Rapid evolution rescues hosts from competition and disease but-despite a dilution effect-increases the density of infected hosts.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Virulent parasites can depress the densities of their hosts. Taxa that reduce disease via dilution effects might alleviate this burden. However, 'diluter' taxa can also depress host densities through competition for shared resources. The combination of disease and interspecific competition could even drive hosts extinct. Then again, genetically variable host populations can evolve in response to both competitors and parasites. Can rapid evolution rescue host density from the harm caused by these ecological enemies? How might such evolution influence dilution effects or the size of epidemics? In a mesocosm experiment with planktonic hosts, we illustrate the joint harm of competition and disease: hosts with constrained evolutionary ability (limited phenotypic variation) suffered greatly from both. However, populations starting with broader phenotypic variation evolved stronger competitive ability during epidemics. In turn, enhanced competitive ability-driven especially by parasites-rescued host densities from the negative impacts of competition, disease, and especially their combination. Interspecific competitors reduced disease (supporting dilution effects) even when hosts rapidly evolved. However, this evolutionary response also elicited a potential problem. Populations that evolved enhanced competitive ability and maintained robust total densities also supported higher densities of infections. Thus, rapid evolution rescued host densities but also unleashed larger epidemics.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.