Interactions Between Ants and Larvae of the Host- Manipulating Parasite, Dicrocoelium Dendriticum

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dc.contributor.authorUnrau, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorUniversity of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
dc.contributor.supervisorGoater, Cameron P.
dc.date.accessioned2019-06-19T17:46:43Z
dc.date.available2019-06-19T17:46:43Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.degree.levelMastersen_US
dc.description.abstractMany parasites manipulate their host’s behaviour to facilitate their own transmission. The phenomenon is complex, requiring multi-disciplinary approaches. I evaluated host decision making and utilized modern imaging techniques to understand how larvae of the fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum, can so radically alter the behaviour of their ant, Formica aserva, hosts. My results showed that infected ants make decisions regarding substrate that uninfected hosts never make. They preferentially attached with their mandibles to flower blossoms that were familiar to them and they preferred flowers that contained attached nestmates. Site-selection by larva occurred within the ventral-anterior-most region of the sub-esophageal ganglion of the ant brain, proximal to the control centres that regulate the action of the mandibles, feeding behaviours, and temperature sensing. My results provide the key foundation for further studies designed to determine whether the complex manipulation of ant behaviour requires direct physical and/or neurochemical modulation by the brain worm.en_US
dc.embargoNoen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/5409
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.proquest.subjectParasitology [0718]en_US
dc.proquest.subjectEntomology [0353]en_US
dc.proquestyesYesen_US
dc.publisherLethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciencesen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.relation.ispartofThesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science)
dc.subjectAntsen_US
dc.subjectDicrocoelium dendriticumen_US
dc.subjectFormica aservaen_US
dc.subjectParasitic brain infectionsen_US
dc.titleInteractions Between Ants and Larvae of the Host- Manipulating Parasite, Dicrocoelium Dendriticumen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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