Changes in tadpole aggregation behavior induced by an infectious pathogen

Numerous selection pressures have influenced behaviors in animals.  For example, social behaviors may be influenced by selection pressures associated with infectious diseases. Some social behaviors act as barriers to disease transmission, while others may be directly affected by disease, ultimately enhancing pathogen transmission. Here I present data from experiments examining schooling behavior in larvae of two amphibian species after exposure to an emerging infectious fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Though infection did not induce avoidance behavior in either species, aggregation behavior changed as a result of infection status. These observations combined with tadpole activity data suggest the possibility for enhanced transmission  in species of schooling amphibian larvae compared to non-schooling species. I consider the evolutionary history of larval amphibian behavior as well as the implications of observed behavioral patterns for pathogen dynamics.