Reacciones de los animales a los respectivos excrementos monitoreados por el equipo de investigación. Arriba a la izquierda: macacos japoneses/humanos. Arriba a la derecha: pingüino Adelia/salpicadura blanca (parásitos, patógenos). Abajo a la izquierda: Tortuga de orejas rojas/pelet negro. Abajo a la derecha: Loris perezoso/similar a un macaco pero más pequeño. Crédito: KyotoU/Jake Tobiyama
Los científicos revelan las estrategias para evitar enfermedades de múltiples especies animales.
La vida para todas las criaturas, incluidos los humanos, sería mucho más sencilla si las enfermedades fueran tan notorias como señales de advertencia intermitentes o campanas de alarma fuertes. Sin embargo, en lugar de tales advertencias abiertas, los humanos han evolucionado para experimentar un sentimiento conocido como repugnancia como medida de protección. ¿Existe este tipo de estrategia defensiva en otros animales?
Aunque se ha prestado mucha atención al miedo y la evasión de los depredadores en el campo del comportamiento animal, el estudio de la evitación de enfermedades ha recibido notablemente menos atención en comparación.
Un equipo internacional de científicos ahora ha establecido un marco para probar el asco y sus comportamientos asociados de evitación de enfermedades en varios animales.
» datos-gt-translate-atributos=»[{» attribute=»»>species, social systems, and habitats.
“Over 30 species have been reported to exhibit disease avoidance strategies in the wild. We provide predictions for seven others that were previously overlooked and that could serve as new model species,” notes lead author Cécile Sarabian, a former JSPS postdoctoral fellow at Kyoto University.
With these predictions, the team accounts for models of specific ecological niches, sensory environments, and social systems for a number of species including the native common octopus and the invasive red-eared slider, which are both relevant to Japan.
“The various costs and benefits involved in experiencing disgust and avoiding illness depend on the social system and ecology of the species,” remarks co-author Andrew MacIntosh, Associate Professor at Kyoto University Wildlife Research Center.
Disgust can be triggered by sensory cues associated with disease risk, such as the sight of diarrhea, which releases a set of behavioral or physiological responses that help animals avoid parasites, pathogens, and toxins.
The levels of disgust behavior vary also from species to species depending on their social systems and ecological niches. Since solitary species have relatively fewer social interactions and resulting disease transmission, they are less adapted than group-living species in recognizing and evading such life-threatening risks.
“Some species living in colonies, such as rabbits and penguins, go further in tolerating diseased mates since a community immunity strategy ensures the colony’s survival,” adds MacIntosh.
The implications to human health are significant since expected disgust-driven behaviors can be applied to the study of the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, a model of coronavirus infections that considers social distancing flattens the curve predicting the number of positive cases, in contrast to the exponential curve for cases without social distancing
“Beyond fundamental research, it’s important to keep promoting the creation of a database that gathers disease-avoidance evidence in animals and its applications in relevant conservation and wildlife management strategies,” concludes Sarabian.
Reference: “Disgust in animals and the application of disease avoidance to wildlife management and conservation” by Cécile Sarabian, Anna Wilkinson, Marie Sigaud, Fumihiro Kano, Jorge Tobajas, Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Joshua M. Plotnik and Andrew J. J. MacIntosh, 13 March 2023, Journal of Animal Ecology.
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13903
