Ecology and Zoogeography of Parasites

Parasitism is a ubiquitous phenomenon that is probably as old as heterotrophic organisms themselves. It is one of the major types of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species. The development of the biological sciences brought about a broader definition of parasitism. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was known that parasites thrive at the expense of their hosts and use the host as their dwellings. The definition of parasitism emphasized the damage parasites inflicted on hosts, the metabolic dependence of parasites on hosts, and ecological interactions between populations of these two species of living organisms. It is also known that parasites can lower the fitness of hosts by exploiting nutritional resources, habitats, and dispersal. Parasites can also modify host behavior and lead to their castration (Levri, 1998). Parasites can have varied impacts on hosts. The attachment organs of the parasites can cause mechanical damage to host tissues. Acanthocephalan spikes and cestode hooks and suckers can cause intestinal pathology, while monogenean hooks and clamps can damage the structures of fish gill filaments. Large internal parasites or those occurring in great numbers can block digestive tracts. Host tissues can sustain mechanical damage as parasites migrate or pass from one developmental stage to the next. While migrating into the host body cavity, roundworm larvae from the family Anisakidae break through stomach walls or pyloric caecae of the fish, which are the intermediate host. Tapeworm larvae of the genus Ligula, which settle in the body cavity, exert pressure on the fish gonads causing castration. They feed either on as yet undigested food or the components of food that has been broken down by enzymes; thus depleting hosts of protein, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and enzymes. The parasites themselves produce enzymes that damage host cells and inhibit physiological processes. Parasitic metabolic products can be toxic to hosts; some parasites produce substances that impede blood clotting (leeches), destroy epithelial cells (cercariae Digenea), which creates the conditions necessary for secondary infection. In this chapter, parasitism will be examined from the perspective of the close relationship between two organisms: the parasite and the host. The parasite lives at the expense of the host, but it is also dependent on its host in many other aspects. Parasitism is distinguishable from predation by its more extensive reproductive potential, its smaller size and thus limited visibility, and in its representing a lower level of evolutionary advancement. If the relationship described above is only temporary, then it is referred to it as temporary parasitism. In many cases, this is limited to one-time contact with the host that is