Unraveling Host-Parasite-Pathogen Dynamics
In the intricate web of animal disease and health in animals, it is essential to understand how hosts are able to resist parasitic and pathogenic invasion in order to learn about resilience and population viability. Among such survival processes, *tolerance* has emerged as a central phenomenon. As distinct from resistance, where parasite or pathogen populations are decreased or annihilated, tolerance entails a decrease in the damage done by the invaders without necessarily decreasing their populations. This allows the host to recover from infections with little cost to overall fitness, a concept of growing interest especially in that of honeybees resistant to Varroa mites and viruses they carry and transmit. " Viruses are readily transmitted between and within honey bee colonies, as well as between other bee and insect species that are found in t...