Study extends the ‘ecology of fear’ to fear of parasites
Work at Washington University in St. Louis, just
published in EcoHealth, shows that the ecology of fear, like other
concepts from predator-prey theory, also extends to parasites. Raccoons and squirrels would give up food, the study demonstrated, if
the area was infested with larval ticks. At some level, they are
weighing the value of the abandoned food against the risk of being
parasitized.