Host Manipulation by Parasites

Parasites that manipulate the behaviour of their hosts represent striking examples of adaptation by natural selection. This field of study is now moving beyond its descriptive phase and into more exciting areas where the processes and patterns of such dramatic adaptations can be better understood. This innovative text provides an up-to-date, authoritative, and challenging review of host manipulation by parasites that assesses the current state of developments in the field and lays out a framework for future research. It also promotes a greater integration of behavioral ecology with studies of host manipulation (behavioral ecology has tended to concentrate mainly on behaviour expressed by free living organisms and is far less focused on the role of parasites in shaping behaviour). To help achieve this, the editors adopt a novel approach of having a prominent expert on behavioral ecology (but who does not work directly on parasites) to provide an afterword to each chapter.PREFACE: RICHARD DAWKINS ; 1. A history of parasites and hosts, science and fashion ; Afterword ; 2. Evolutionary routes leading to host manipulation by parasites ; Afterword ; 3. The strings of the puppet master: How parasites change host behavior ; Afterword ; 4. Parasites discover behavioral ecology: How to manage one's host in a complex world ; Afterword ; 5. Manipulation of plant phenotypes by insects and insect-borne pathogens ; Afterword ; 6. Visual trickery in avian brood parasites ; Afterword ; 7. Endosymbiotic microbes as adaptive manipulators of arthropod behavior and natural driving sources of host speciation ; Afterword ; 8. Parasites and the superorganism ; Afterword ; 9. Ecological consequences of manipulative parasites ; Afterword ; 10. Applied aspects of host manipulation by parasites ; Afterword ; 11. Behavioral manipulation outside the world of parasites ; Afterword ; Index