PARASITIC EFFECTS ON HOST LIFE-HISTORY TRAITS - A REVIEW OF RECENT STUDIES

We review empirical studies bearing on the effects of parasites on the age of maturity of their hosts. The few cases already published support theoretical predictions, namely a decrease of host pre reproductive lifespan unless parasites are benign. Host responses may be due either to phenotypic plasticity or io genetic differences, and even though very few studies on this topic have already been published both mechanisms occur. Promising areas of research include the distribution oi age-specific potential costs of resistance to parasitism, as well as the evolution of age-specific parasite preferences under the concomitant evolution of host life history traits.