Parasites differentially impact crayfish personality in different contextsAbstract

TitleParasites differentially impact crayfish personality in different contextsAbstract
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2021
AuthorsMacKay RNoel, Moore PA
JournalBehaviour
Volume158
Issue10
Pagination921 - 943
Date PublishedSep-07-2022
ISSN0005-7959
Abstract

The expression of an individual animal’s behaviour can be placed along many different personality spectra. Parasite load can alter animal behaviour and, thus, fitness. The personality traits of rusty crayfish, Faxonius rusticus, were analysed in three different behavioural contexts: foraging, exploration, and threatened. Each crayfish was tested in each context 3 times, giving a total of 9 assays per crayfish. After assays were completed, crayfish were dissected, and the hepatopancreas of each crayfish was photo analysed to determine the parasite load of the trematode, Microphallus spp. A composite personality score for each assay and parasite load was loaded into a PCA. The PCA model showed that as parasite load increased, crayfish became bolder in threatening contexts and less exploratory in novel environments, whether or not a food stimulus was present. Thus, parasite load alters the placement of crayfish on different personality spectra, but this change is context specific.

URLhttps://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-bja10101
DOI10.1163/1568539X-bja10101
Short TitleBehav.