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Do tolerant hosts increase the risk of invasive parasites to non-tolerant hosts?
Hosts vary in their ability to mitigate parasite-induced damage. Vulnerable hosts are often harmed by parasites, whereas tolerant hosts mitigate the damage. Tolerant hosts often support large numbers of parasites, and may act as a source of parasites that directly threaten vulnerable hosts. However, the threat of tolerant hosts is not a foregone conclusion; in some systems, parasites preferentially infest tolerant hosts instead of vulnerable hosts. Thus, tolerant hosts may act as sinks for parasites. Previous studies have demonstrated that Darwin’s finches are extremely vulnerable to the avian vampire fly, Philornis downsi; in some years infestation causes 100% of finch nests to fail. However, Galapagos mockingbirds are behaviorally tolerant hosts of avian vampire flies and often suffer no reduction in fledging success. Galapagos mockingbirds also start nesting earlier and have twice as many flies than finches which may increase their threat to Darwin's finches. I am investigating whether tolerant Galapagos mockingbirds are a source of parasitic nest flies for vulnerable Darwin’s finches using kinship analyses. Specifically, I use whole genomes of P. downsi to identify closely related flies between nests. I then use the proportion of closely related flies between nests to quantify the relative transmission from mockingbird nests to finch nests compared to the transmission between mockingbird nests. |
Publications
8. Smith E., R.J. Swift, A. Courtemanche, F. Huang, M.M. Pelton, L. Puleo, J. Simmonds, M.M. Waller, H. Walton, C. Weissburg, L.R. Wilde, and N.R. Senner. 2026. Nest site and habitat changes over 15 years in a predicted climate refugium in Beluga, AK, USA, have a positive impact on Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) nest survival. Journal of Polar Biology. 49:47 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-026-03489-8
7. Waller, M.M., N.A. Amedee, H.M. Warr, S.E. Bush, and D.H. Clayton. 2026. Prevalence and intensity of parasitic insects on Puerto Rican birds. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 62: 407-420 https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-25-00151
6. Waller, M.M., S.E. Bush, A.D. Sweet, and D.H. Clayton. 2026. Kinship analysis confirms that tolerant Galapagos mockingbirds are a source of nest flies that threaten Darwin’s finches. Molecular Ecology 7: e70334 https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.70334
5. Guzman P.E., Amedee N.A., H.M Warr, R. Linnell, Waller M.M., Clayton D.H., and S.E. Bush 2025. Grooming time parallels molt intensity in wild-caught feral rock pigeons. Journal of Avian Biology 2025: e03489 https://doi.org/10.1002/jav.03489
4. Bush S.E., Waller M.M., K.M. Davis, S.F. Clayton, and D.H. Clayton. 2024. Birds in arid regions have depauperate louse communities: Climate change implications? Ecology and Evolution 14: 1-11 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70280
3. Waller M.M., H.M. Warr, G.B. Goodman, S.E. Bush, and D.H. Clayton. 2024. Influence of grooming on permanent arthropod associates of birds: cattle egrets, lice, and mites. Journal of Parasitology 110: 143-149 https://doi.org/10.1645/23-85
2. Bush S.E., Waller M.M., Herman J.M., Hobbs K.S., Clayton A.R., Watson J.L., Oleyar M.D. Clayton D.H. 2023. Birds groom more in regions with higher parasite pressure: a comparison of temperate and subtropical American kestrels. Animal Behaviour 201: 125-135 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.04.015
1. Duggan M.T., Groleau M.F., Shealy E.P., Self L.S., Utter T.E., Waller M.M., Hall B.C., Stone C.G., Anderson L.L., Mousseau T.A.. 2021. An approach to rapid processing of camera trap images with minimal human input. Ecology and Evolution. 11: 12051-12063. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7970
7. Waller, M.M., N.A. Amedee, H.M. Warr, S.E. Bush, and D.H. Clayton. 2026. Prevalence and intensity of parasitic insects on Puerto Rican birds. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 62: 407-420 https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-25-00151
6. Waller, M.M., S.E. Bush, A.D. Sweet, and D.H. Clayton. 2026. Kinship analysis confirms that tolerant Galapagos mockingbirds are a source of nest flies that threaten Darwin’s finches. Molecular Ecology 7: e70334 https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.70334
5. Guzman P.E., Amedee N.A., H.M Warr, R. Linnell, Waller M.M., Clayton D.H., and S.E. Bush 2025. Grooming time parallels molt intensity in wild-caught feral rock pigeons. Journal of Avian Biology 2025: e03489 https://doi.org/10.1002/jav.03489
4. Bush S.E., Waller M.M., K.M. Davis, S.F. Clayton, and D.H. Clayton. 2024. Birds in arid regions have depauperate louse communities: Climate change implications? Ecology and Evolution 14: 1-11 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70280
3. Waller M.M., H.M. Warr, G.B. Goodman, S.E. Bush, and D.H. Clayton. 2024. Influence of grooming on permanent arthropod associates of birds: cattle egrets, lice, and mites. Journal of Parasitology 110: 143-149 https://doi.org/10.1645/23-85
2. Bush S.E., Waller M.M., Herman J.M., Hobbs K.S., Clayton A.R., Watson J.L., Oleyar M.D. Clayton D.H. 2023. Birds groom more in regions with higher parasite pressure: a comparison of temperate and subtropical American kestrels. Animal Behaviour 201: 125-135 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.04.015
1. Duggan M.T., Groleau M.F., Shealy E.P., Self L.S., Utter T.E., Waller M.M., Hall B.C., Stone C.G., Anderson L.L., Mousseau T.A.. 2021. An approach to rapid processing of camera trap images with minimal human input. Ecology and Evolution. 11: 12051-12063. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7970
