Body condition metrics are widely used to infer animal health and to assess costs of parasite
infection. Since parasites harm their hosts, ecologists might expect negative relationships …

Most hosts are infected with multiple parasites, and responses of the immune system to co-
occurring parasites may influence disease spread. Helminth infection can bias the host …

Studies in humans and laboratory animals link stable gut microbiome “enterotypes” with
long-term diet and host health. Understanding how this paradigm manifests in wild …

Epidemiological studies typically focus on single‐parasite systems, although most hosts
harbor multiple parasite species; thus, the potential impacts of co‐infection on disease …

Over the past four decades, as the use of the term condition has become more frequent, the
meaning of the term has become increasingly vague. This is especially true in evolutionary …

In nutrient-poor wildlife reserves it has become common-practice to provide supplemental
mineral resources for wildlife. Yet, the impacts of anthropogenic mineral supplementation on …

Fitness costs of infection are fundamental to understanding the ecology and evolution of
host–parasite interactions. However, these costs, and particularly their underlying …

Abstract Changes in the gut microbiota during pathogen infection are often predicted to
influence disease outcomes. However, studies exploring whether pathogens induce …

Co-infections are common in natural populations and interactions among co-infecting
parasites can significantly alter the transmission and host fitness costs of infection. Because …

Various body condition scoring (BCS) methods have been developed as management tools
in zoo animal husbandry. In contrast to BCS for farm animals, where visual and palpable …