ArticleCommunications biology2022
Parasitic infection increases risk-taking in a social, intermediate host carnivore.
Article in Communications biology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Delayed Pathogenicity inMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- Review
- Interference of phototherapy with blue LED light on the behaviour of mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii.PloS one · 2026Article
- Toxoplasma gondii in wild felides in Poland.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
- Individual variation within parasite communities of endangered African lions.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Host-Microbiome Interactions as Moderators of Host Quality and Biodiversity-Disease Relationships.Integrative and comparative biology · 2025Review
- A cross-sectional study ofJournal of veterinary research · 2025Article
- Toxoplasma gondii and the Brain: Frenemies? Or Just Outright Foes?Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society · 2025Review
- Fallow deer approaching humans are more likely to be seropositive forRoyal Society open science · 2025Article
- Review: Gut Microbiota-A Powerful Tool for Improving Pig Welfare by Influencing Behavior Through the Gut-Brain Axis.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Review
- Red Fox (Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Seroprevalence ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Social context influences Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spp. infection in Alberta free-roaming wild pigs (Sus scrofa).PloS one · 2025Article
- Exploring similarities and differences between Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infections in dogs.Veterinary research communications · 2024Review
- Differences in boldness between Eurasian and American wolves (Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Sero-epidemiological investigation on Toxoplasma gondii infection in Apennine wolf (Canis lupus italicus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Italy.BMC veterinary research · 2024Article
- Impact ofJournal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Editorial: Rising stars in parasite and host: 2023.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Parasite-mediated manipulation?Biology letters · 2023Article
- Tapping into natural history collections to assess latitudinal gradients of parasite diversity.Parasitology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite capable of infecting any warm-blooded species and can increase risk-taking in intermediate hosts. Despite extensive laboratory research on the effects of T. gondii infection on behaviour, little is understood about the effects of toxoplasmosis on wild intermediate host behavior. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, has a diverse carnivore community including gray wolves (Canis lupus) and cougars (Puma concolor), intermediate and definitive hosts of T. gondii, respectively. Here, we used 26 years of wolf behavioural, spatial, and serological data to show that wolf territory overlap with areas of high cougar density was an important predictor of infection. In addition, seropositive wolves were more likely to make high-risk decisions such as dispersing and becoming a pack leader, both factors critical to individual fitness and wolf vital rates. Due to the social hierarchy within a wolf pack, we hypothesize that the behavioural effects of toxoplasmosis may create a feedback loop that increases spatial overlap and disease transmission between wolves and cougars. These findings demonstrate that parasites have important implications for intermediate hosts, beyond acute infections, through behavioural impacts. Particularly in a social species, these impacts can surge beyond individuals to affect groups, populations, and even ecosystem processes.
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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.