A cryptic host-parasitoid interaction reduces the impact of heatwaves on <i>Drosophila</i> host populations

<p dir="ltr">This research project tested the independent and joint effects of heatwaves, parasitoids, and nutrition on survival of three tropical rainforest Drosophila species. We hypothesised that parasitoid infection would lower host heat tolerance, and that this effect would be more pronounced under nutritional stress. We found that low-nutrition food decreased hosts’ resistance to parasitoids, but increased the ability of Drosophila to withstand high temperatures. Counter to expectation, exposure to parasitoids reduced the susceptibility of host populations to heatwaves; this reduction was observed regardless of the underlying susceptibility of different host species to parasitism, and even in a species within which parasitoids were unable to develop.</p><p dir="ltr">Note: Most figures were presented in a different way compared with the original version written in the first R file "multistressor manuscript_code for analysis_archive". The code for the revised figures were in the two "code for revision" R file.</p>