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Shedding light on environmentally transmitted parasites: lighter conditions within lakes restrict epidemic size
Corresponding Author
Clara L. Shaw
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109 USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorSpencer R. Hall
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405 USA
Search for more papers by this authorErin P. Overholt
Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056 USA
Search for more papers by this authorCarla E. Cáceres
Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801 USA
Search for more papers by this authorCraig E. Williamson
Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056 USA
Search for more papers by this authorMeghan A. Duffy
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109 USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Clara L. Shaw
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109 USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorSpencer R. Hall
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405 USA
Search for more papers by this authorErin P. Overholt
Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056 USA
Search for more papers by this authorCarla E. Cáceres
Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801 USA
Search for more papers by this authorCraig E. Williamson
Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056 USA
Search for more papers by this authorMeghan A. Duffy
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109 USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Editor: Elizabeth T. Borer.
Abstract
Parasite fitness depends on a successful journey from one host to another. For parasites that are transmitted environmentally, abiotic conditions might modulate the success of this journey. Here we evaluate how light, a key abiotic factor, influences spatiotemporal patterns of zooplankton disease where light varies seasonally, across lakes, and with depth in a lake. In an in situ experiment using those three sources of variation, we tested sensitivity of spores of two parasites to ambient light. Infectivity of both parasites was lower when exposed to ambient light in comparison to parasites exposed to otherwise similar conditions in the dark. The more sensitive parasite (the fungus, Metschnikowia) was damaged even under lower ambient light during late fall (November). With this differential sensitivity established, we evaluated links between light environment and natural outbreaks in lakes. Consistent with the incubations, epidemics of the less sensitive parasite (the bacterium, Pasteuria) started earlier in the fall (under higher ambient light), and both parasites had smaller outbreaks in more transparent lakes. Overall, light environment may impact the timing and size of disease outbreaks. Outbreaks could thus become exacerbated by human activities that darken waters, including lake browning associated with climate change and eutrophication.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
Data are available from the Dryad Digital Repository: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w3r2280nk
Supporting Information
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ecy3168-sup-0001-AppendixS1.pdfPDF document, 1.3 MB | Appendix S1 |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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