Data for: Parasite prevalence depends on female preference: Integrating parasite-mediated sexual selection and infectious disease dynamics

If ornament quality advertises heritable resistance to a directly
transmitted parasite, female preference for males with higher quality
ornaments could reduce parasite prevalence via two pathways. Preference
for, and thus more contact with, resistant males should: 1) change
parasite transmission opportunities; and 2) increase offspring parasite
resistance. Here, we used data and parameterized a SIR model to test the
hypothesis that, across populations of guppies (Poecilia reticulata), the
strength of female preference negatively correlates with the prevalence of
directly transmitted gyrodactylids. Female guppies exhibit
between-population variation in preference for males with larger orange
ornaments that are heritable and forecast resistance. Using 89 prevalence
estimates from 10 populations, and controlling for ecological covariates,
we found that populations with significant female preference had lower
prevalence than those without. Our theoretical model inferred that
preference affects prevalence largely by affecting offspring parasite
resistance. Female preference can thus drive the dynamics of ordinary
infectious diseases.