Data from: Multispecies interactions and the community context of the evolution of virulence

Pairwise host-parasite relationships are typically embedded in broader
networks of ecological interactions, which have the potential to shape
parasite evolutionary trajectories. Understanding this "community
context" of pathogen evolution is vital for wildlife, agricultural,
and human systems alike, as pathogens typically infect multiple hosts –
and these hosts may have independent ecological relationships. Here we
introduce an eco-evolutionary model examining ecological feedbacks across
a range of host-host interactions. Specifically, we analyze a model of the
evolution of virulence of a parasite infecting two hosts exhibiting
competitive, mutualistic, or exploitative relationships. We first find
that parasite specialism is necessary for inter-host interactions to
impact parasite evolution. Furthermore, we find generally that increasing
competition between hosts leads to higher shared parasite virulence, while
increasing mutualism leads to lower virulence. In exploitative host-host
interactions, the particular form of parasite specialization is critical –
for instance, specialization in terms of onward transmission, host
tolerance, or intra-host pathogen growth rate lead to distinct
evolutionary outcomes under the same host-host interactions. Our work
provides testable hypotheses for multi-host disease systems, predicts how
changing interaction networks may impact virulence evolution, and broadly
demonstrates the importance of looking beyond pairwise relationships to
understand evolution in realistic community contexts.