Investigation of Evolutionary/Adaptive Character of Sickness Behavior in Pathogen Transmission

Author(s)

Fernando Silveira Marques

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB)
• Defense date: 2009-10-21

Examining board members

José Guilherme de Souza Chaui Mattos Berlinck; Carlos Arturo Navas Iannini; Luiz Henrique Alves Monteiro

• Advisor: José Guilherme de Souza Chaui Mattos Berlinck

Abstract

Sickness behavior is a non-specific behavioral syndrome resulted from immune system activation. Anorexia, lethargy and decrease in exploratory behavior are just a few of a set of symptoms that, together, decrease the physical activities of a sick animal. Sickness behavior is seen as an adaptive response to the challenge of fighting pathogens invasion. Many authors assume that decrease in animal\'s activities is useful to save energy from daily activities to spending it with immune system activation and fever response, which are energetically costly. However, this theory is controversial. Dealing with a rise in energy consumption due to infection, it is expected a rise in foraging. However, sickness behavior motivate animals to do the opposite. It is also suggested that sickness behavior can prevent pathogen transmission. Our objective was to investigate whether this is possible or not. We used an individual based model to discuss the relation of sickness behavior and pathogen transmission. We modeled consumers in a virtual environment and we observed how many individuals got sick. Since transmission depends on consumers\' contact, we first studied the movement rules to be adopted in our model. We chose the straight line movement, discussed in chapter 2. We discussed also the symptom of anorexia and its consequences in energy supply maintenance. In this sense, we verified that anorexia can be deleterious to sick consumers (chapter 3). In chapter 4, we modeled the sickness behavior and we saw that it can prevent pathogen transmission significantly under the condition that consumers got close during the searching for food. However, we were not able to conclude whether sickness behavior is adaptive or not. (AU)