Parasite Biology and Host Interactions

Parasites outnumber free-living species in most ecosystems and shape community structure by regulating host populations, altering predator-prey dynamics, and influencing which species can coexist. Understanding these interactions has become increasingly urgent as habitat loss, climate change, and biological invasions reshuffle host and parasite communities in ways that can amplify disease risk or, conversely, erode the parasite diversity that stabilizes ecosystems. Researchers are working to clarify how global change disrupts the coevolutionary relationships between hosts and their parasites, particularly in aquatic environments where shifting temperatures and introduced species can break down long-standing ecological checks. A central open question is whether losing parasites — alongside the broader biodiversity crisis — destabilizes communities in predictable ways, and whether molecular tools can reveal enough about parasite phylogeny and host specificity to anticipate emerging disease threats before they take hold.

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Keywords

ParasitesEcosystemHost-Parasite InteractionsBiodiversityInvasive SpeciesDisease Risk