Ecological immunology is a rapidly expanding field of research that attempts to explain
variation in immune function across individuals, populations and species. Birds and …

For most, the mere mention of lice forces an immediate hand to the head and recollection of
childhood experiences with nits, medicated shampoos, and traumatic haircuts. But for a …

Inbreeding and a consequent loss of genetic diversity threaten small, isolated populations.
One mechanism by which genetically impoverished populations may become extinct is …

Social organisms are constantly exposed to infectious agents via physical contact with
conspecifics. While previous work has shown that disease susceptibility at the individual and …

The consequences of inbreeding have been well studied in a variety of taxa, revealing that
inbreeding has major negative impacts in numerous species, both in captivity and in the …

Inbreeding is typically detrimental to fitness. However, some animal populations are
reported to inbreed without incurring inbreeding depression, ostensibly due to past “purging” …

Body size generally correlates intraspecifically with insect fitness but can also correlate with
parasite abundance (number of parasites). Host preferences by parasites, and variation in …

Parasites reduce host fitness via perturbations to host energy allocation, growth, survival,
and reproduction. Here, we investigate the independent effects of parasite exposure and …

Population genetic theory posits that molecular variation buffers against disease risk.
Although this “monoculture effect” is well supported in agricultural settings, its applicability to …

Genetic variation for parasite resistance occurs in most host populations. Costs of
resistance, manifested as reduced fitness of resistant genotypes in the absence of …