Animal Diversity Rats and Cats Paper Flashcards
Toxoplasma gondii’s manipulation appears to alter rats’ perception of … … …, in some cases turning their innate aversion into an imprudent …
cat predation risk
attraction
The selectivity of such behavioural changes suggests that this ubiquitous parasite subtly alters the … of its … host to enhance … rate whilst leaving other behavioural categories and general health intact
brain, intermediate, predation
- in contrast to the gross impediments frequently characteristic of many other host-parasite systems
According to the manipulation hypothesis, a parasite
may alter the behaviour of its host for its own benefit,
usually by enhancing its … …
transmission rate
T. gondii is capable of infecting all…
mammals
Members of the cat family are the … hosts
of the parasites and the only mammals known to shed
T. gondii … with their …
definitive, oocysts, faeces
… are the intermediate hosts.
Rodents (e.g. rats)
- thin-walled cysts form in various tissues, most commonly the brain - remain viable for life of host
A cat can become infected by either of two routes: it may … … oocysts shed from another cat in the environment, or it may ingest cysts when eating infected … … …
Directly ingest,
intermediate host prey
There is a mean prevalence of … of the rat population being infected by the parasite
35%
T. gondii causes an increase in … and a decrease in … (fear of novelty) behaviour
activity, neophobic
Other costly behavioural patterns in rats such as competition for mates and social status, which do not have any obvious impact upon cat … …, are … … by the parasite
predation rate, left un-altered
Uninfected rats have evolved to avoid predators such as cats. Even … laboratory rats that have not been in contact with cats for several hundred generations still show strong … … when confronted with cat …
naive, aversive reactions, odours
The Lister-hooded laboratory strain of rat was chosen because of its reported…
behavioural similarity to wild rats
The final sample size for analysis consisted of
… infected rats and … uninfected rats
23, 32
What were the four corner smells?
Rat’s own smell (straw bedding), neutral (water), undiluted cat’s urine, undiluted rabbit urine (Served as control for mammalian non-predator)
Each of the scented areas also contained a … and
… bowl covered by a transparent plastic cover
water, food
Infected individuals (rats) show no difference from uninfected individuals in terms of … … …, and behavioural changes unlikely to influence … …
general health status, predation rate
Infected rats behaved similarly with respect to areas containing their own smell (which was preferred by both), neutral smell and rabbit odour. This suggests that the potentially … attraction exhibited by infected rats was not caused by a gross … of … faculties.
fatal, impairment, olfactory
