The species richness of freshwater environments is disproportionately high compared with that of the oceans, given their respective sizes. If diversification rates are higher in freshwaters because they are isolated and heterogeneous, this should apply to parasites as well. Using 14 large datasets comprising 677 species of freshwater and marine fish, the hypothesis that freshwater parasites exp...

Host condition is often likely to influence parasite virulence. Furthermore, condition may often be correlated with host density, and therefore, it is important to understand the role of density-dependent virulence (DDV). We examine the consequences of DDV to the evolution of parasites in both seasonal and non-seasonal environments. In particular, we consider seasonality in host birth rate that...

Recent successes in malaria control are threatened by drug-resistant Plasmodium parasites and insecticide-resistant Anopheles mosquitoes, and first generation vaccines offer only partial protection. New research approaches have highlighted host as well as parasite molecules or pathways that could be targeted for interventions. In this study, we discuss host-parasite interactions at the differen...

The burden of disease caused by the protozoan parasite Cyptosporidium is unknown. However, routine laboratory diagnosis and surveillance enables the basic epidemiology to be described, changes to be monitored and under-ascertainment to be measured. Although the two main species involved in human disease in developed countries, Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis, have differing e...

Higher pathogen and parasite transmission is considered a universal cost of colonial breeding due to the physical proximity of colony members. However, this has rarely been tested in natural colonies, which are structured entities, whose members interact with a subset of individuals and differ in their infection histories. We use a population of common guillemots, Uria aalge, infected by a tick...

Rodents, as mice and rats are the most common laboratory animals used in research and testing. They are seldom investigated for autochthonous ecto- and endoparasites prior their utilization in the experiments. Helminth parasites can alter the interpretation of final results. Pinworms commonly infecting laboratory rodents include mainly the mice pinworms Syphacia obvelata and Aspiculuris tetrapt...

Trichinella is a nematode parasite which is found in a wide variety of animals in virtually every country where it has been studied. Historically associated with pork, human trichinellosis, resulting from ingestion of Trichinella larvae in raw or undercooked meat, can be a serious disease. While many countries have eliminated pork as a source of human infection through routine inspection progra...

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TREE vol. 13, no. 6 June 1998 Copyright © 1998, Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 0169-5347/98/$19.00 PII: S0169-5347(98)01372-X adaptation occurs even within strongly interacting, complex communities. These results demonstrate that multiple species interactions do not necessitate the diffusion of coevolutionary relationships. Emphasizing the value of this community perspective, Allen ...