Activating the immune system has associated fitness costs, both immediate costs in the form
of reduced current reproduction and long-term costs in the form of reduced life span and …

Field parasitological studies consistently demonstrate the reality of polyparasitism in natural
systems. However, only recently, studies from ecological and evolutionary fields have …

Ecoimmunologists aim to understand the costs, benefits, and net fitness consequences of
different strategies for immune defense. 2. Measuring the fitness consequences of immune …

How do we defend ourselves against pathogenic microbes and other parasites infecting us?
Research on defence against parasites has traditionally focused on resistance—the ability …

One group of commonly found parasites in birds, for which fitness consequences and effects
on life history traits have been much debated are Haemosporidian blood parasites. In a long …

1. In recent years there has been much interest in physiological trade-offs involving host
immune function and parasite defence, with the suggestion that they could play a pivotal role …

Hosts may mitigate the impact of parasites by two broad strategies: resistance, which limits
parasite burden, and tolerance, which limits the fitness or health cost of increasing parasite …

Insects display a staggering diversity of mating and social behaviours. Studying these
systems provides insights into a wide range of evolutionary and behavioural questions, such …

Growing evidence indicates that human activities are causing cancer rates to rise in both
human and wildlife populations. This is due to the inability of ancestral anti‐cancer defences …

Interacting pathogens and hosts have evolved reciprocal adaptations whose function is to
allow host exploitation (from the pathogen stand point) or minimize the cost of infection (from …