Monarch butterfly migration and parasite transmission in eastern North America

@article{Bartel2011MonarchBM,
  title={Monarch butterfly migration and parasite transmission in eastern North America},
  author={Rebecca A. Bartel and Karen S. Oberhauser and Jacobus C. de Roode and Sonia Altizer},
  journal={Ecology},
  year={2011},
  volume={92},
  pages={342 - 351}
}
Seasonal migration occurs in many animal systems and is likely to influence interactions between animals and their parasites. Here, we focus on monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) and a protozoan parasite (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha) to investigate how host migration affects infectious disease processes. Previous work showed that parasite prevalence was lower among migratory than nonmigratory monarch populations; two explanations for this pattern are that (1) migration allows animals to… 
View on PubMed
europepmc.org
134 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
5
Background Citations
72
Methods Citations
4
Results Citations
2

Figures from this paper

134 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Loss of migratory behaviour increases infection risk for a butterfly host
TLDR
Infection prevalence was markedly higher among sedentary monarchs compared with migratory monarchs, indicating that diminished migration increases infection risk, and infection virulence differed among parasite strains but was similar between migratory and sedentary populations.
Migratory monarchs wintering in California experience low infection risk compared to monarchs breeding year-round on non-native milkweed.
TLDR
Examination of the prevalence of OE infection from 2013 to 2016 in western North America showed that infection frequency was over nine times higher for monarchs sampled in gardens with year-round milkweed as compared to migratory monarchs sampling at overwintering sites.
Migratory monarchs that encounter resident monarchs show life-history differences and higher rates of parasite infection.
TLDR
It is shown that migrant and resident monarchs overlap during fall and spring migration and increased migrant-resident interactions could affect monarch parasitism, migratory success and long-term conservation.
Migratory behaviour predicts greater parasite diversity in ungulates
TLDR
Analysis of parasite communities of 93 migratory, nomadic and resident ungulate species finds that migrants have higher parasite species richness than residents or nomads, even after considering other factors known to influence parasite diversity, such as body size and host geographical range area.
Extreme Heterogeneity in Parasitism Despite Low Population Genetic Structure among Monarch Butterflies Inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands
TLDR
The results suggest that other factors such as landscape-level environmental variation or colonization-extinction processes might instead cause the extreme heterogeneity in monarch butterfly infection observed here.
Responses of migratory species and their pathogens to supplemental feeding
TLDR
Modelling and empirical work provide support for mechanisms through which resource-induced changes in migration can alter pathogen transmission and focus on the well-studied example of monarch butterflies and their protozoan parasites in North America.
Decreased movement related to parasite infection in a diel migratory coral reef fish
TLDR
It is suggested that A. haemuli infection alters host movement patterns and that parasitism may therefore indirectly influence trophic connectivity between reef and seagrass ecosystems.
Do Healthy Monarchs Migrate Farther? Tracking Natal Origins of Parasitized vs. Uninfected Monarch Butterflies Overwintering in Mexico
TLDR
These findings, combined with recent declines in the numbers of migratory monarchs wintering in Mexico and observations of sedentary monarch populations in the southern U.S, suggest that shifts from migratory to sedentary behavior will likely lead to greater infection prevalence for North American monarchs.
Monarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes
TLDR
If remaining threats to habitat are mitigated, climate-induced stochastic variation of the eastern migratory population of monarch butterfly around a relatively stationary population size is expected.
Demystifying Monarch Butterfly Migration
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 68 REFERENCES
Parasites hinder monarch butterfly flight: implications for disease spread in migratory hosts
TLDR
Results showed that parasitized butterflies exhibited shorter flight distances, slower flight speeds, and lost proportionately more body mass per km flown, suggesting that poorer flight performance among parasitized hosts was not directly caused by morphological constraints.
Parasite avoidance: the cause of post-calving migrations in Rangifer?
TLDR
The study revealed significant differences in larval abundance among herds from different summer grazing areas and suggested that herds with post-calving migrations have significantly lower larval abundances than herds remaining on or near the calving grounds for the whole summer.
Prevalence of avian influenza and host ecology
TLDR
The results imply that virus transmission via surface waters and frequent intra- and interspecific contacts during long migration are the major risk factors of avian influenza in the wild, however, the link between exploitation of surface Waters and LPAI prevalence appears to be weaker than previously thought.
The fall migration flyways of monarch butterflies in eastern North America revealed by citizen scientists
The migration of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) from Canada and the United States to overwintering sites in Mexico is one of the world’s most amazing biological phenomena, although recent…
Virulence determinants in a natural butterfly-parasite system
TLDR
Although parasite loads and genotypes had strong effects on virulence, inoculation dose, host sex and age at infection were also important, and the need for a detailed understanding of specific host-parasite systems for addressing theory is emphasized.
Hampered Foraging and Migratory Performance in Swans Infected with Low-Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Virus
TLDR
It is shown that infected swans experienced delayed migration, leaving their wintering site more than a month after uninfected animals, and this was correlated with infected birds travelling shorter distances and fuelling and feeding at reduced rates.
Associations between host migration and the prevalence of a protozoan parasite in natural populations of adult monarch butterflies
TLDR
Because monarchs form resident and migratory populations in different parts of the world, this host–parasite system provides the opportunity to examine how variation in parasite prevalence relates to host movement patterns.
Effects of host migration, diversity and aquaculture on sea lice threats to Pacific salmon populations
TLDR
The results characterize parasite threats of salmon aquaculture to wild salmon populations and show how host migration and diversity are important factors affecting parasite transmission in the oceans.
Ecological Niches in Sequential Generations of Eastern North American Monarch Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Danaidae): The Ecology of Migration and Likely Climate Change Implications
TLDR
Eastern North American monarch butterflies show a series of range shifts during their breeding season, and this study studied the environmental context of these shifts by identifying the ecological conditions that monarchs use in successive summer months.
The spatial distribution of plant populations, disease dynamics and evolution of resistance
TLDR
A two-dimensional spatially explicit simulation model was developed in which host-population spacing was modelled by varying the percentage of sites suitable for the host, and the general patterns of disease incidence and prevalence generated in the simulations corresponded well with the patterns observed in natural populations of L. alpina and M. violaceum.
...
1
2
3
4
5
...