BEHAVIORAL DEFENSES OF VERTEBRATES
While not often addressed, behavioral defenses on the part of the vertebrate host can have considerable influence on the success of parasites attempting to infect a host (Hart 1997).
It often is the collective, subtle effects of parasitism that appear to account for behavioral patterns hosts use to reduce parasite loads (Hart 1990). Behaviors for which there is some evidence of control over parasites may be thought of as a first line of defense against parasites, with physiological and immunological forms of resistance serving as a second barrier (Hart 1997).Hosts use a number of strategies for parasite avoidance (Hart 1997). Nest-borne ectoparasites can be avoided or controlled by avoiding old nest sites or abandoning severely infested nests; in some cases ectoparasites may be controlled by the use of secondary plant compounds. Ectoparasites can be removed from the body and plumage by self-grooming, allopreening, heterospecific cleaning, and rubbing ants or other insects containing formic acids on their feathers (anting). Hosts also attempt to avoid flying insects by using fly-repelling behavior, defensive sleeping or resting, grouping away from parasitic flies, as well as seeking arthropod-free microhabitats. Finally, hosts can avoid and control many microparasites by nest sanitation, territoriality, and specific mating behaviors (Hart 1997).
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