Can a parasite make wolves take more risks? The Yellowstone wolf paper, explained

Can a tiny parasite change how wolves behave? In this video we explain the paper “Parasitic infection increases risk-taking in a social, intermediate host carnivore” by Connor Meyer and colleagues (Communications Biology, 2022). Using 26 years of data on Yellowstone’s gray wolves, the authors found that wolves whose territories overlap more with cougars were more likely to test positive for Toxoplasma gondii, and that infected wolves were more likely to leave their pack or to become pack leaders. We cover how the study was done, what it found, what did not change, the authors’ feedback-loop hypothesis, and the limits they state. Chapters 0:00 The paper 0:12 Toxoplasma gondii 0:54 Wolves and cougars in Yellowstone 1:22 Blood tests 2:21 What predicts infection? 2:59 Does infection change behaviour? 4:18 Why it matters 4:36 How wolves get infected 4:59 A feedback loop (hypothesis) 5:35 Limitations 6:04 The main message Paper Meyer, C. J. et al. (2022) Parasitic infection increases risk-taking in a social, intermediate host carnivore. Communications Biology 5, 1180. #wolves #yellowstone #parasites #science #biology