# Evolution of intermediate latency strategies in seasonal parasites

## TL;DR

This paper shows how seasonal host activity can influence parasite evolution by selecting for intermediate latency periods and multiple stable strategies.

## Contribution

The study extends prior theory to show that seasonal host activity affects non-obligate killer parasites similarly to obligate ones.

## Key findings

- Seasonal host activity can select for intermediate latency periods in non-obligate killer parasites.
- Multiple evolutionarily stable strategies can be maintained due to host seasonality.
- Host seasonal patterns act as a major selective force on parasite life-history evolution.

## Abstract

Traditional mechanistic trade-offs between transmission and parasite latency period length are foundational for nearly all theories on the evolution of parasite life-history strategies. Prior theoretical studies demonstrate that seasonal host activity can generate a trade-off for obligate-host killer parasites that selects for intermediate latency periods in the absence of a mechanistic trade-off between transmission and latency period lengths. Extensions of these studies predict that host seasonal patterns can lead to evolutionary bistability for obligate-host killer parasites in which two evolutionarily stable strategies, a shorter and longer latency period, are possible. Here we demonstrate that these conclusions from previously published studies hold for non-obligate host killer parasites. That is, seasonal host activity can select for intermediate parasite latency periods for non-obligate killer parasites in the absence of a trade-off between transmission and latency period length and can maintain multiple evolutionarily stable parasite life-history strategies. These results reinforce the hypothesis that host seasonal activity can act as a major selective force on parasite life-history evolution by extending the narrower prior theory to encompass a greater range of disease systems.