@article{5c29f15433da461d95b761e13ba6ef3d,
title = "Evidence for convergent evolution of host parasitic manipulation in response to environmental conditions",
abstract = "Environmental conditions exert strong selection on animal behavior. We tested the hypothesis that the altered behavior of hosts due to parasitic manipulation is also subject to selection imposed by changes in environmental conditions over time. Our model system is ants manipulated by parasitic fungi to bite onto vegetation. We analyzed the correlation between forest type (tropical vs. temperate) and the substrate where the host bites (biting substrate: leaf vs. twigs), the time required for the fungi to reach reproductive maturity, and the phylogenetic relationship among specimens from tropical and temperate forests from different parts of the globe. We show that fungal development in temperate forests is longer than the period of time leaves are present and the ants are manipulated to bite twigs. When biting twigs, 90% of the dead ants we examined had their legs wrapped around twigs, which appears to provide better attachment to the plant. Ancestral state character reconstruction suggests that leaf biting is the ancestral trait and that twig biting is a convergent trait in temperate regions of the globe. These three lines of evidence suggest that changes in environmental conditions have shaped the manipulative behavior of the host by its parasite.",
author = "Loreto, {Raquel G.} and Ara{\'u}jo, {Jo{\~a}o P.M.} and Kepler, {Ryan M.} and Fleming, {Kimberly R.} and Moreau, {Corrie S.} and Hughes, {David P.}",
note = "Funding Information: RGL and DPH conceptualized the study; RGL and DPH methodized the study; RGL, JPMA, KF, and DPH did all the investigation; RGL, JPMA, RMK, CSM, and DPH did formal analysis; RGL wrote original draft; RGL, JPMA, KF, RMK, CSM, and DPH wrote, reviewed, and edited the study; RGL, JPMA, and KF visualized the study; RMK, CSM, and DPH supervised the study; DPH acquired funding for the study. We are thankful to Dr. T. Sato and S. Ootake for the hospitality, guidance, and help with the field work in Japan. We thank Dr. H. Evans for providing us access to the samples he collected. We are thankful to D. Shengjuler for revising our manuscript and to the anonymous reviewers for the comments that improved our work. RGL was partially supported by CAPES-Brazil (grant BEX6203-10-8). This work was supported in part by NSF grants IOS-1558062 (DPH) and NIH grant R01 GM116927-02 (DPH) and a grant from the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative-Collective Behavior: From Cells to Societies program (DPH and CSM). The information collected for Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l. records from around the world is found on Dataset S1. Images used to evaluate the fungal development can be found in Figure S3. Taxon, specimen voucher and sequence information for specimens used in this study can be found in Dataset S2. Funding Information: We are thankful to Dr. T. Sato and S. Ootake for the hospitality, guidance, and help with the field work in Japan. We thank Dr. H. Evans for providing us access to the samples he collected. We are thankful to D. Shengjuler for revising our manuscript and to the anonymous reviewers for the comments that improved our work. RGL was partially supported by CAPES-Brazil (grant BEX6203-10-8). This work was supported in part by NSF grants IOS-1558062 (DPH) and NIH grant R01 GM116927-02 (DPH) and a grant from the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative-Collective Behavior: From Cells to Societies program (DPH and CSM). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 The Author(s). Evolution {\textcopyright} 2018 The Society for the Study of Evolution.",
year = "2018",
month = oct,
doi = "10.1111/evo.13489",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "72",
pages = "2144--2155",
journal = "Evolution",
issn = "0014-3820",
publisher = "Society for the Study of Evolution",
number = "10",
}