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Abstract Although parasites are ubiquitous in marine ecosystems, predicting the abundance of parasites present within marine ecosystems has proven challenging due to the unknown effects of multiple interacting environmental gradients and stressors. Furthermore, parasites often are considered as a uniform group within ecosystems despite their significant diversity.We aim to determine the potential importance of multiple predictors of parasite abundance in coral reef ecosystems, including reef area, island area, human population density, chlorophyll‐a, host diversity, coral cover, host abundance and island isolation.Using a model selection approach within a database of more than 1,200 individual fish hosts and their parasites from 11 islands within the Pacific Line Islands archipelago, we reveal that geographic gradients, including island area and island isolation, emerged as the best predictors of parasite abundance.Life history moderated the relationship; parasites with complex life cycles increased in abundance with increasing island isolation, while parasites with direct life cycles decreased with increasing isolation. Direct life cycle parasites increased in abundance with increasing island area, although complex life cycle parasite abundance was not associated with island area.This novel analysis of a unique dataset indicates that parasite abundance in marine systems cannot be predicted precisely without accounting for the independent and interactive effects of each parasite's life history and environmental conditions.
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Insights into the biology of the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis
Abstract Angiostrongylus cantonensisis a parasitic nematode with a complex life cycle involving rats as definitive hosts and gastropods as intermediate hosts. The parasite can infect other organisms, including humans, in which it causes neuroangiostrongyliasis, a globally emerging but neglected disease. This primer reviews the biology ofA. cantonensisincluding its life cycle and development in its natural, accidental, and paratenic hosts, as well as its expanding geographic distribution. It then considers recent advances inA. cantonensisresearch followed by exploring areas that are ripe for further investigation into this fascinating parasite. Graphical Abstract
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- Award ID(s):
- 2410205
- PAR ID:
- 10586293
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Science + Business Media
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Parasites & Vectors
- Volume:
- 18
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1756-3305
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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