Link to paper: http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(07)01503-5?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982207015035%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
1. In page R696, It says that termites bite the legs off corpses of nestmates. It says that this serves to kill infectious parasites. How does biting the legs off corpses serve to kill parasites? What effect does dessicating the cadaver have on the parasite? Is it because the parasite makes the corpse its nest, feeding from it?
2. However, in page R697 it mentions that one drawback of having low generic diversity is that susceptibility for one virus is unlikely to vary throughout the population. Wouldn't the lack of generic diversity in bee colonies potentially cause them to be wiped out by one virus, strong enough to get past their immune systems? Is this possibility not worth risking because, as the text also mentions, higher genetic diversity may cause more frequent and varied infections?
Link to paper: http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(07)01503-5?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982207015035%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
1. In page R696, It says that termites bite the legs off corpses of nestmates. It says that this serves to kill infectious parasites. How does biting the legs off corpses serve to kill parasites? What effect does dessicating the cadaver have on the parasite? Is it because the parasite makes the corpse its nest, feeding from it?
2. However, in page R697 it mentions that one drawback of having low generic diversity is that susceptibility for one virus is unlikely to vary throughout the population. Wouldn't the lack of generic diversity in bee colonies potentially cause them to be wiped out by one virus, strong enough to get past their immune systems? Is this possibility not worth risking because, as the text also mentions, higher genetic diversity may cause more frequent and varied infections?
