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Parasitic castration

One strategy of parasitism

One strategy of parasitism

Parasitic castration is the strategy, by a parasite, of blocking reproduction by its host, completely or in part, to its own benefit. This is one of six major strategies within parasitism.

Evolutionary strategy

The parasitic castration strategy, which results in the reproductive death of the host, can be compared with the parasitoid strategy, which results in the host's death. Both parasitoids and parasitic castrators tend to be similar to their host in size, whereas most non-castrating parasites are orders of magnitude smaller than the host. In both strategies, an infected host is much less hospitable to new parasites than an uninfected one.

A parasite that ends the reproductive life of its host theoretically liberates a significant fraction of the host's resources, which can now be used to benefit the parasite. The fraction of intact host energy spent on reproduction includes not just gonads and gametes but also secondary sexual characteristics, mate-seeking behavior, competition, and care for offspring. Infected hosts may have a different appearance, lacking said sex characteristics and sometimes even devoting more energy to growth, resulting in gigantism. The evolutionary parasitologist Robert Poulin suggests that parasitic castration may result in prolonged host life, benefiting the parasite.

Parasitic castration may be direct, as in Hemioniscus balani, a parasite of hermaphroditic barnacles which feeds on ovarian fluid, so that its host loses female reproductive ability but still can function as a male. Parasitic castration may equally be indirect, as when a parasite diverts host energy from developing gonads or secretes castrating hormones.

The parasitic castration strategy is used by some larval trematode parasites of snails and some isopod and barnacle parasites of crustaceans. For example, 18 species of trematodes parasitically castrate the California horn snail, Cerithidea californica.

Certain other effects of a parasite on its host may appear similar to parasitic castration, such as the host's immune system diverting energy from reproduction in response to numerous parasites that singly would have no impact on fecundity or fertility, or parasitoids that may consume reproductive organs first.

Taxonomic range

Parasite groupParasite speciesHost groupHost speciesRemarks
Protista Sporozoa*Mackinnonia tubificis*Annelida Oligochaete*Tubifex tubifex*Destroys gonad
Protista Haplosporidia*Urosporidium charletti*Cestoda*Catenotaenia dendritica*"Hypercastrator" (a hyperparasite that castrates the parasite it parasitizes)
Platyhelminthes Trematoda*Bucephalus mytili*Mollusca Bivalvia or Gastropodavarious speciesDestroys gonad, host grows larger
Platyhelminthes Cestodavarious speciesPisces Cyprinidaevarious speciesDestroys gonad, behavioral changes
Arthropoda Isopoda*Hemioniscus balani*Arthropoda Cirripediavarious barnaclesDrains ovarian fluid of hermaphrodite, but spares male function
Arthropoda Cirripedia*Sacculina*Arthropoda Decapodavarious crabsAtrophies gonads, behavioral changes, partially feminizes males and stops regeneration of crab legs
Arthropoda Strepsipteratwisted-wing fliesArthropoda Hymenoptera or Hemipteravarious specieslast=Zimmerfirst=Carltitle=Do Parasites Rule the World?journal=Discoverdate=August 2000url=https://discovermagazine.com/2000/aug/cover/accessdate=19 February 2011}}
Platyhelminthes Cestoda*Flamingolepis liguloides*ArthropodaArtemia spp.last=Yongfirst=Edtitle=Parasites Make Their Hosts Sociable So They Get Eatenjournal=National Geographicdate=January 2013url=http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/29/parasites-make-their-hosts-sociable-so-they-get-eaten/archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131221503/http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/29/parasites-make-their-hosts-sociable-so-they-get-eaten/url-status=deadarchive-date=January 31, 2013accessdate=6 December 2016}}
Arthropoda Hymenoptera*Crematogaster sjostedti*Plant*Acacia drepanolobium*Ant removes axillary meristems, sterilizing trees.

References

References

  1. Kuris, Armand M.. (1974). "Trophic interactions: similarity of parasitic castrators to parasitoids". [[Quarterly Review of Biology]].
  2. (1988). "Parasitic castration: host species preferences, size-selectivity and spatial heterogeneity". [[Oecologia]].
  3. Poulin, Robert. (2007). "Evolutionary Ecology of Parasites". Springer.
  4. (2009). "Parasitic castration: the evolution and ecology of body snatchers". [[Trends in Parasitology]].
  5. Hechinger, R. F.. (2010). "Mortality affects adaptive allocation to growth and reproduction: field evidence from a guild of body snatchers". [[BMC Evolutionary Biology]].
  6. Zimmer, Carl. (August 2000). "Do Parasites Rule the World?". Discover.
  7. Yong, Ed. (January 2013). "Parasites Make Their Hosts Sociable So They Get Eaten". National Geographic.
  8. (1999). "Sterilization and canopy modification of a swollen thorn acacia tree by a plant-ant". Nature.
  9. (2007-05-22). "Parasitic castration: a perspective from a model of dynamic energy budgets". Oxford University Press.
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