Phenotypic plasticity of ‘off‐host’ parasite stages in response to heatwaves in the Daphnia ‐ Pasteuria system

Abstract

Heatwaves challenge our understanding of how environmental stressors reshape host–parasite interactions, particularly during the critical “off‐host” stages of endoparasites. These stages, often dismissed as inert and unaffected by environmental changes, remain a black box in ecological research despite their key role in parasites' life cycle. Here, we examined how heatwaves affect the infectivity and progression of infection of Pasteuria ramosa , a bacterial parasite of the planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna . In order to measure the respective influences of the bacterial genotype and the heatwaves, we exposed the off‐host stages (=spores) from four genetically distinct parasite clones to three temperature regimes (20°C, 30°C, 40°C) and tested their subsequent effects on host and parasite traits. Heatwaves reduced parasite infectivity, regardless of parasite genotype. Intriguingly, heat‐stressed spores induced genotype‐specific shifts in their host: One host clone increased castration rates at higher temperatures, while others experienced moderate to dramatic declines. Furthermore, individuals exposed to heat‐stressed spores that remained uninfected exhibited enhanced survival, suggesting reduced costs of resistance against damaged parasite spores. This study provides insights into how heatwaves, endured only by the parasite, can modulate various aspects of host–parasite interactions, underlying the importance of the parasite's environmental history in evolutionary ecology and epidemiology.