Data from: Resistance to gapeworm parasite has both additive and dominant genetic components in house sparrows, with evolutionary consequences for ability to respond to parasite challenge ...

• Main Authors: Lundregan, Sarah, Niskanen, Alina, Muff, Stefanie, Holand, Håkon, Kvalnes, Thomas, Ringsby, Thor-Harald, Husby, Arild, Jensen, Henrik
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2020
• Subjects: Additive genetic variance; dominance variance; Norway; Northern Norway
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5dv41ns3g; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.5dv41ns3g

Host parasite relationships are likely to change over the coming decades in response to climate change and increased anthropogenic stressors. Understanding the genetic architecture of parasite resistance will aid prediction of species’ responses to intensified parasite challenge. The gapeworm “Syngamus trachea” is prevalent in natural bird populations and causes symptomatic infections ranging from mild to severe. The parasite may affect ecological processes by curtailing bird populations and is important due to its propensity to spread to commercially farmed birds. Our large scale dataset on an insular house sparrow metapopulation in northern Norway includes information on gapeworm prevalence and infection intensity, allowing assessment of the genetics of parasite resistance in a natural system. To determine whether parasite resistance has a heritable genetic component, we performed variance component analyses using animal models. Resistance to gapeworm had substantial additive genetic and dominance ...