Some Parasites Can Turn Animals Cannibalistic, Researchers Find

Shrimp can turn cannibalistic when infected by a certain breed of parasite, according to a new study.

Researchers at University of Leeds, Stellenbosch University, and Queen's University Belfast found that when Pleistophora mulleri - a type of parasite, infected freshwater shrimp, it drove cannibalism in the tiny crustaceans.

"Although the parasite is tiny - similar in size to a human red blood cell - there are millions of them in the host muscle and they all rely on the host for food. This increased demand for food by the parasites may drive the host to be more cannibalistic," Mandy Bunke of the University of Leeds said in a press release.

Shrimps considered in the study frequently eat their own young, but the study found that infection by parasite doubled the attack on juveniles.

 "The parasite is quite debilitating. It takes over huge areas of the muscle, so instead of a nice transparent shrimp you get quite a chalky appearance because of muscles packed with the parasite... Perhaps cannibalism of smaller shrimp is the only way these sick animals can survive," Alison Dunn of the University of Leeds said.

It might be possible that the parasite and resulting cannibalism could be driving shrimp population down.

The study did not provide any information about cannibalism among humans.

Findings of the study were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.