Was thinking about this today at work after hearing a story on NPR about a fungus that effects cicadas as they emerge and causes changes to the cicada’s reproductive organs and mating behavior in ways that help spread the fungus. Here’s the story on cicadas but I know I’ve heard some wild stories about this happening with parasites in other species.
“symptom”?
Obviously only some symptoms cause changes that help spread a disease, but “a change to physiology or behavior” seems to fit the definition.
There doesn’t appear to be a Latiny name.
Pages for logged out editors learn more
Behavior-altering parasites are parasites with two or more hosts, capable of causing changes in the behavior of one of their hosts to enhance their transmission, sometimes directly affecting the hosts' decision-making and behavior control mechanisms. They do this by making the intermediate host, where they may reproduce asexually, more likely to be eaten by a predator at a higher trophic level which becomes the definitive host where the parasite r...
One paper seems to call it “Parasite-induced trophic facilitation”
Hard to believe there isn’t some clever science novelty song with a mellifluous name like that.
DSeid
May 21, 2021, 11:55pm
6
The example I thought of was the zombie ant fungus and wiki on that
Torrubia unilateralis Tul. (1865)
Cordyceps unilateralis (Tul.) Sacc. (1883)
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as zombie-ant fungus, is an insect-pathogenic fungus, discovered by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in 1859, and currently found predominantly in tropical forest ecosystems. O. unilateralis infects ants of the tribe Camponotini, with the full pathogenesis being characterized by alteration of the behavioral patterns of the infected ant. Infected hosts leave thei...
calls it
Extended phenotypeEdit
Some parasites have evolved to manipulate their host’s behavior in order to increase their transmission to uninfected susceptible individuals, thereby increasing their fitness.[20] This host manipulation is termed the “extended phenotype” of the parasite and is a form of adaptation. Host ant manipulation by O. unilateralis represents one of the best-known examples of extended phenotypes.[10]
This very recent and gruesome scientific field has been called: Neuro-Parasitology.
Imagine a parasite that makes an animal change its habits, guard the parasite's offspring or even commit suicide. While mind-control may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, the phenomenon is very real—and has spawned a new field,...
Do science fields get their own science style Latin names?
Thanks! Helpful.
Another example I was thinking of is rabies. The virus causes the host to become averse to drinking water, which could dilute the virus load in the saliva and… causes the host to become hyper aggressive and bitey, spreading the virus.
“Extended phenotype” is a more generic term than that:
Genes determine our eye color, height, development throughout life and even our behavior. All living beings have a set of genes that, when expressed, manifest themselves in a more or less explicit …
Neuro-Parasitology seems to be the best answer so far.