Article
Virulence-transmission trade-offs and population divergence in virulence in a naturally occurring butterfly parasite.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America - 27 May 2008
de Roode Jacobus C, Yates Andrew J, Altizer Sonia
Abstract excerpt
Why do parasites harm their hosts? Conventional wisdom holds that because parasites depend on their hosts for survival and transmission, they should evolve to become benign, yet many parasites cause harm. Theory predicts that parasites could evolve virulence (i.e., parasite-induced reductions in host fitness) by balancing the transmission benefits of parasite replication with the costs of host death. This idea...
Read the complete abstract on PubMedTopics
Share this publication in a Topic to start or enrich a Post.