IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v450y2007i7171d10.1038_nature06291.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Host–parasite ‘Red Queen’ dynamics archived in pond sediment

Author

Listed:
  • Ellen Decaestecker

    (Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
    Interdisciplinary Research Center (IRC), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Campus Kortrijk, Etienne Sabbelaan 53, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium)

  • Sabrina Gaba

    (Universität Basel, Zoologisches Institut, Evolutionsbiologie, Vesalgasse 1, 4053 Basel, Switzerland
    Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UR1282, Infectiologie Animale et Santé Publique, Nouzilly, F-37380, France)

  • Joost A. M. Raeymaekers

    (Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
    Laboratory for Animal Biodiversity and Systematics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Charles de Bériotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, Belgium)

  • Robby Stoks

    (Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,)

  • Liesbeth Van Kerckhoven

    (Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,)

  • Dieter Ebert

    (Universität Basel, Zoologisches Institut, Evolutionsbiologie, Vesalgasse 1, 4053 Basel, Switzerland)

  • Luc De Meester

    (Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,)

Abstract

Host–parasite stalemate The Red Queen in Lewis Carroll's Through The Looking Glass said that one had to run as fast as possible to stay in the same place. Leigh Van Valen applied the concept to host–parasite and predator–prey interactions, in which each participant evolves as fast as is necessary to outpace the other. But how can these so-called Red-Queen dynamics be tracked through time? By stirring around in the slime at the bottom of a pond, it turns out. The water flea Daphnia and one of its microbial parasites are both able to survive many years dormant in lake mud. In a study that compared revived dormant stages of host and parasite from the sediment beneath a pond in Heverlee, Belgium, with present-day descendants, there was steady increase in parasite virulence through time. But to little overall effect: infection rates between the hosts and their parasite contemporaries remained much the same: as in many an 'arms race', the result is a stalemate.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Decaestecker & Sabrina Gaba & Joost A. M. Raeymaekers & Robby Stoks & Liesbeth Van Kerckhoven & Dieter Ebert & Luc De Meester, 2007. "Host–parasite ‘Red Queen’ dynamics archived in pond sediment," Nature, Nature, vol. 450(7171), pages 870-873, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:450:y:2007:i:7171:d:10.1038_nature06291
    DOI: 10.1038/nature06291
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06291
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/nature06291?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:450:y:2007:i:7171:d:10.1038_nature06291. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.