Infection with toxoplasma gondii Significantly increases likelihood of becoming a leader and changing pack dynamics.
26-year study involving behavioral data from 229 wolves and subsequent blood analysis revealed a link between Toxoplasma gondii infection and pack leadership. This research highlights a previously underestimated impact of the parasite on wildlife behavior and ecosystems.
Toxoplasma gondii, a microscopic organism requiring felines for sexual reproduction, can infect various warm-blooded animals, including humans. In humans, it often causes asymptomatic toxoplasmosis, but the parasite can be potentially fatal.
Within infected intermediate hosts, Toxoplasma gondii prioritizes reaching a feline definitive host for reproduction. This appears to be achieved through disturbing manipulations. Studies show infected rats, for instance, exhibit increased risk-taking behavior and a strange attraction to feline scents, potentially leading to their demise by cats.
A link is suggested between Toxoplasma gondii infection and increased vulnerability to predators in larger animals. Studies indicate that infected chimpanzees face a heightened risk of encountering larger cats like leopards. Similarly, hyenas carrying the parasite are more likely to be killed by lions.
For grey wolves (Canis lupus) in Yellowstone National Park, direct predation by cougars (Puma concolor) is unlikely. However, their territories can overlap, and both species hunt the same prey – elk (Cervus canadensis), bison (Bison bison), and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) – which can also harbor the parasite. This raises the possibility of wolf infection, potentially through consuming cougar carcasses or ingesting cougar feces.
The Study
Analysis of nearly 27 years of wolf behavior data provided a valuable opportunity to investigate the impact of the parasite on a wild, intermediate host. Blood samples collected from both wolves and cougars by researchers led by Yellowstone Wolf Project biologists Connor Meyer and Kira Cassidy were used to assess Toxoplasma gondii infection rates.
A correlation was identified between wolves with significant territory overlap with cougars and a higher likelihood of T. gondii infection. Furthermore, a concerning behavioral shift was observed – a substantial increase in risk-taking behavior.
Infected wolves displayed an 11-fold greater tendency to disperse from their packs, venturing into new territory. This dispersal was particularly pronounced in males, with infected individuals exhibiting a 50% chance of leaving within six months compared to the usual 21 months observed in uninfected males. Similarly, infected females had a 25% chance of leaving within 30 months, contrasting with the 48 months typically seen in healthy females.
Interestingly, the study also revealed a link between T. gondii infection and pack leadership. The parasite may be responsible for elevated testosterone levels, potentially leading to heightened aggression and dominance behaviors – characteristics that favor a wolf’s rise to pack leader.
This phenomenon carries significant implications. Pack leaders are the primary reproducers, with T. gondii potentially being transmitted congenitally from mother to offspring. Additionally, it can disrupt the overall pack dynamic.
The researchers’ paper highlights the significant influence pack leaders exert on their social group due to the hierarchical structure of grey wolf packs. This influence extends to group decision-making.
The study suggests a potential scenario where T. gondii infection in lead wolves, accompanied by behavioral changes, creates a dynamic that transmits parasite-induced behavior throughout the pack. This could occur, for instance, if an infected pack leader, exhibiting increased boldness, leads the pack into new territory with a high concentration of cougar scent – a potential source of further T. gondii exposure. This scenario creates a feedback loop, potentially leading to increased territory overlap and infection rates within the wolf population.
The research provides compelling evidence for the significant impact microscopic, understudied agents can have on ecosystem dynamics.
The researchers emphasize the importance of incorporating parasite infections into future wildlife studies. This inclusion is deemed vital to achieving a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted impact parasites have on individuals, groups, populations, and the ecological processes within ecosystems.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-04122-0
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.