Enemy within:
Trojan tapeworms plotting for
reckless behaviour.
Sticklebacks infected with a tapeworm behave in ways that appear to maximise the tapeworm’s transmission to a new host: swimming near the surface of the water and so increasing the risk of being eaten by birds. A study by Talarico et al (2017) suggests that this change in behaviour is down to the influence of the tapeworm itself rather than a “general, systematic impairment of infected sticklebacks”, although other recent studies have demonstrated that there may also be additional reasons for this behavioural change.
Original research: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-017-2265-9
Discussion of study: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-017-2272-x