Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/7169
Appears in Collections:Biological and Environmental Sciences Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Effects of phenotypic plasticity on pathogen transmission in the field in a Lepidoptera-NPV system
Author(s): Reeson, Andrew F
Wilson, Kenneth
Cory, Jennifer S
Hankard, Peter
Weeks, Jason M
Goulson, Dave
Hails, Rosemary S
Contact Email: dave.goulson@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: transmission
mass action assumption
phase polyphenism
Spodoptera exempta
baculoviruses
Issue Date: Aug-2000
Date Deposited: 2-Aug-2012
Citation: Reeson AF, Wilson K, Cory JS, Hankard P, Weeks JM, Goulson D & Hails RS (2000) Effects of phenotypic plasticity on pathogen transmission in the field in a Lepidoptera-NPV system. Oecologia, 124 (3), pp. 373-380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420000397
Abstract: In models of insect–pathogen interactions, the transmission parameter (ν) is the term that describes the efficiency with which pathogens are transmitted between hosts. There are two components to the transmission parameter, namely the rate at which the host encounters pathogens (contact rate) and the rate at which contact between host and pathogen results in infection (host susceptibility). Here it is shown that in larvae of Spodoptera exempta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in which rearing density triggers the expression of one of two alternative phenotypes, the high-density morph is associated with an increase in larval activity. This response is likely to result in an increase in the contact rate between hosts and pathogens. Rearing density is also known to affect susceptibility of S. exempta to pathogens, with the high-density morph showing increased resistance to a baculovirus. In order to determine whether density-dependent differences observed in the laboratory might affect transmission in the wild, a field trial was carried out to estimate the transmission parameter for S. exempta and its nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV). The transmission parameter was found to be significantly higher among larvae reared in isolation than among those reared in crowds. Models of insect–pathogen interactions, in which the transmission parameter is assumed to be constant, will therefore not fully describe the S. exempta-NPV system. The finding that crowding can influence transmission in this way has major implications for both the long-term population dynamics and the invasion dynamics of insect–pathogen systems.
DOI Link: 10.1007/s004420000397
Rights: The publisher does not allow this work to be made publicly available in this Repository. Please use the Request a Copy feature at the foot of the Repository record to request a copy directly from the author. You can only request a copy if you wish to use this work for your own research or private study.
Licence URL(s): http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/under-embargo-all-rights-reserved

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
goulson_phenotypicplasticity_2000.pdfFulltext - Published Version107.49 kBAdobe PDFUnder Embargo until 3000-01-01    Request a copy

Note: If any of the files in this item are currently embargoed, you can request a copy directly from the author by clicking the padlock icon above. However, this facility is dependent on the depositor still being contactable at their original email address.



This item is protected by original copyright



Items in the Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

The metadata of the records in the Repository are available under the CC0 public domain dedication: No Rights Reserved https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

If you believe that any material held in STORRE infringes copyright, please contact library@stir.ac.uk providing details and we will remove the Work from public display in STORRE and investigate your claim.