Data and code from: Migration and colder temperatures constrain microsporidian parasite outbreaks in zooplankton populations
Data files
Oct 01, 2026 version files 122.85 KB
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OP_Temp_AUC_infected_host_densities.csv
714 B
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OP_Temp_AUC_infection_prevalence.csv
790 B
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OrdosporaTemperatureExperiment.csv
40.85 KB
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OrdosporaTemperatureManuscript.Rmd
44.10 KB
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OrdosporaTemperatureSupportingInformation.Rmd
28.77 KB
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README.md
4.84 KB
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TemperatureInsidePitcher.csv
2.78 KB
Abstract
Prey frequently encounter multiple natural enemies, so an avoidance behavior in response to one natural enemy, such as diel vertical migration in response to a predator, may alter the conditions, including temperature, in which they encounter another natural enemy, such as a parasite. Many aspects of host-parasite interactions are influenced by temperature (e.g., host susceptibility, transmission, parasite burden, etc.), so daily temperature fluctuations associated with predator-driven diel vertical migration could affect disease dynamics. Furthermore, disease outbreaks often occur seasonally. To test how temperature fluctuations associated with daily vertical migrations and seasonal declines in temperature affected disease outbreaks of the microsporidium Ordospora pajunii in Daphnia dentifera populations, we conducted a multi-phase microcosm experiment lasting 84 days with temperatures chosen to reflect ecologically relevant conditions. We subsampled microcosms weekly for host density and infection prevalence. The first phase of the experiment focused on the effect of daily temperature fluctuations versus a constant temperature on infection prevalence. We found that infection prevalence and outbreak size decreased in the temperature fluctuation treatment, suggesting that diel vertical migration in response to high predation risk reduces parasitism. Epidemics also emerged later in the temperature fluctuation treatment. The second experimental phase was motivated by seasonal changes in temperature and tested the effects of declines in temperature on infection prevalence. Our experimental results showed that drops in temperature ended disease outbreaks. For microcosms starting at a constant temperature during the first phase and then experiencing the decline in temperature in the second phase, total host density rebounded as infection prevalence declined; this, plus lower densities in exposed treatments versus their unexposed controls, support a population-level effect of this parasite on host density. Overall, our study experimentally tested the impacts of ecologically relevant temperature treatments related to migration and seasonality on infection prevalence, and our results suggest that temperature is a strong driver of disease for this host-parasite system.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6f7r
Description of the data and file structure
To test how temperature fluctuations associated with daily vertical migrations and seasonal declines in temperature affected disease outbreaks of the microsporidium Ordospora pajunii in Daphnia dentifera populations, we conducted a multi-phase microcosm experiment lasting 84 days with temperatures chosen to reflect ecologically relevant conditions. We subsampled microcosms weekly for host density and infection prevalence.
Files and variables
File: TemperatureInsidePitcher.csv
Description: time series of the temperature measured inside of the microcosms (pitchers)
Variables
- Date: date and time of the measurement
- Temperature: temperature (degrees Celsius)
File: OrdosporaTemperatureExperiment.csv
Description: host density and infection prevalence data collected weekly during the microcosm experiment
Variables
- Treatment: identification of the parasite exposure and temperature treatments (Control.20 = unexposed + constant 20C, Control.deltaT = unexposed + temperature fluctuations, OP.20 = parasite exposure + constant 20C, OP.deltaT = parasite exposure + temperature fluctuations)
- Parasite: specifies whether the pitcher included the parasite (Ordospora) or not (unexposed)
- Temperature: temperature regime (20 = constant 20C, DVM = temperature fluctuations, T20 = constant 20C + cooling, TDVM = temperature fluctuations + cooling)
- Turnover: specifies whether the pitcher experienced cooling during the second phase of the experiment (NA = sampling date occurred during the first phase, yes = cooling occurred, no = cooling did not occur)
- Replicate: replicate number within each treatment
- ID: unique identification that combines the treatment with the replicate number
- TurnoverID: specifies the cooling or non-cooling treatments during the second phase of the experiment (C20 = unexposed control remained at constant 20C, TC20 = unexposed control was moved from constant 20C to cooling, CdeltaT = unexposed control with temperature fluctuations, TCdeltaT = unexposed control with temperature fluctuations and cooling, OP20 = parasite exposed at constant 20C, TOP20 = parasite exposed with cooling, OPdeltaT = parasite exposed with temperature fluctuations, TOPdeltaT = parasite exposed with temperature fluctuations and cooling)
- Date: sampling date
- Day: day of the experiment
- Total_Volume: total volume of the pitchers (mL)
- Volume: volume of subsample processed (mL)
- UA: number of uninfected adults in subsample
- UJ: number of uninfected juveniles in subsample
- UM: number of uninfected males in subsample
- IA.ordo: number of infected adults in subsample (pitchers without the parasite have NAs listed because there could not be any infections in an unexposed population)
- IJ.ordo: number of infected juveniles in subsample (pitchers without the parasite have NAs listed because there could not be any infections in an unexposed population)
- IM.ordo: number of infected males in subsample (pitchers without the parasite have NAs listed because there could not be any infections in an unexposed population)
File: OP_Temp_AUC_infected_host_densities.csv
Description: integrated infected host densities as a metric of outbreak size
Variables
- ID: identification code for the parasite exposure, temperature treatment, and replicate number (OP = exposed to Ordospora, 20 = constant 20C, d = temperature fluctuations, numbers 1-10 = replicate numbers)
- Treatment: temperature treatment (turnover = cooling, 20 = constant 20C, deltaT_turnover = temperature fluctuations + cooling, deltaT = temperature fluctuations)
- AUC: area under the curve for infected host density
File: OP_Temp_AUC_infection_prevalence.csv
Description: integrated infection prevalence as a metric of outbreak size
Variables
- ID: identification code for the parasite exposure, temperature treatment, and replicate number (OP = exposed to Ordospora, 20 = constant 20C, d = temperature fluctuations, numbers 1-10 = replicate numbers)
- Treatment: Treatment: temperature treatment (turnover = cooling, 20 = constant 20C, deltaT_turnover = temperature fluctuations + cooling, deltaT = temperature fluctuations)
- AUC: area under the curve for infection prevalence
File: OrdosporaTemperatureManuscript.Rmd
Description: code for the analyses and figures in the main text
File: OrdosporaTemperatureSupportingInformation.Rmd
Description: code for the analyses and figures in the appendix
Code/software
R version 4.4.2 (2024-10-31) -- "Pile of Leaves"