Immune responses have evolved to defend hosts efficiently against the debilitating effects of
parasites on host fitness. However, there are relatively few studies of the efficiency of the …

Ecological immunology is a rapidly expanding field of research that attempts to explain
variation in immune function across individuals, populations and species. Birds and …

Seasonal changes in the impact of parasites on hosts should result in seasonal changes in
immune function. Since both ectoparasites and endoparasites time their reproduction to that …

Life-history traits and secondary sexual characters often demonstrate condition-
dependence, and reproductive success thus ultimately appears to be determined by …

Interacting pathogens and hosts have evolved reciprocal adaptations whose function is to
allow host exploitation (from the pathogen stand point) or minimize the cost of infection (from …

The evolution of parasite virulence has been hypothesized to be related to the mode of
parasite transmission; horizontally transmitted parasites can afford to damage their hosts …

Ecological immunology aims to explain variation among hosts in the strength and efficacy of
immunological defenses. However, a shortcoming has been the failure to link host immune …

Reproduction and survival are influenced by parasites, and recently, the ability of the
immune system to fight infection has been included in life history theory. A condition …

Background Although parasitism has been acknowledged as an important selective force in
the evolution of host life histories, studies of fitness effects of parasites in wild populations …

Costs of immunity are widely believed to play an important role in life history evolution, but
most studies of ecological immunology have considered only single aspects of immune …