Evolution Vs Coevolution: Parasitism and constitutive defense costs to host life-history traits Workshop

Disease Ecology Workshop

research16-signature-leadDr. Pej Rohani, of the Odum School of Ecology, gave a talk on “Evolution Vs Coevolution: Parasitism and constitutive defense costs to host life-history traits”.

“Parasites exert a profound influence on the population and evolutionary ecology of their hosts and they have provided the impetus for the prodigious development of theory to explain the evolution of host resistance and parasite virulence. By comparison, very little theory has adopted a coevolutionary approach in which host resistance and parasite virulence interact via trade-offs in associated life history traits. Our understanding of the population dynamics consequences of coevolutionary forces is even less advanced. Here, focusing on an insect host-parasitoid system, I will develop theory on contrasting evolutionary versus coevolutionary dynamics, with the resulting impact on patterns of population abundance squarely in mind. I will also discuss some laboratory tests of these theoretical predictions using a lepidopteran-parasitoid system.” – Workshop abstract

The workshop was held in the Odum School’s Seminar Room 17 from 12:00-1:30 on Wednesday, October 12th.