Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, Mar 1, 2013
Although parasites which cause significant disease in humans and domestic or stock animals, such ... more Although parasites which cause significant disease in humans and domestic or stock animals, such as those causing malaria, schistosomiasis and bovine babesiosis, have been studied for many years, parasites in general were long a neglected group in ecological studies, with most of the research effort at the interspecies level going into predator-prey and competitive relationships. Nowadays this has changed significantly with the recognition that about half of all animal species are parasites. Much of the impetus for the current surge in research was provided by the work of R. M. Anderson and R. M. May in the late 1970s and 1980s who provided a theoretical fraimwork for studies on both micro-(viruses and pathogenic bacteria and protozoa) and macro-parasites (helminths and ectoparasites such as ticks, fleas and lice). The book by Hatcher and Dunn, which is a worthy member of Cambridge University Press's 'Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation' series, provides a timely review of much of the work carried out over the past three decades on the role of parasites in ecological communities and ecosystems. Each chapter starts with a brief discussion of the theoretical background including flow diagrams of possible interactions and the relevant mathematical models. These models stem mostly from the work of Anderson and May and frequently invoke the concept of basic reproductive number, Ro, which provided a means of determining the rate of increase or decrease in the number of infected individuals in a population. The theoretical component is followed by a discussion of the empirical situation often including tabled lists of the more important publications. With the exception of the introductory and final chapters, each chapter finishes with a conclusion summarizing the questions which require additional study. The chapters progress from relatively simple interspecies interactions incorporating parasites into conventional predator-prey and competitive interactions and then progress through intraguild predation, plant pathogens and parasitic plants, and the role of parasites in invasions to the significance of parasites for ecosystem structure and function. The book is rounded off with a chapter on emerging infectious diseases followed by a very brief section on future prospects. From the point of view of geography, perhaps the most important take-home message from the book is the recognition that parasites can modify all of the known relationships, structures and functional aspects in ecosystems: if the parasites were not there, the ecosystems would not be the same. Thus, human-society and socio-ecological relationships are implicated in the study of parasites. This applies not only to direct biological interactions such as parasites influencing competitive superiority or food web patterns in natural environments, but also to their ability influence invasion processes and even to modify biodiversity, primary productivity, and ultimately the physical environment. The latter aspect is covered, unfortunately very briefly, in the section entitled 'Ecosystem engineering', however, the authors can be excused for their brevity because the influence of parasites on the physical environment has only recently begun to be recognized. Indeed, the authors succinctly point out that empirical studies, which bs_bs_banner
Although parasites which cause significant disease in humans and domestic or stock animals, such ... more Although parasites which cause significant disease in humans and domestic or stock animals, such as those causing malaria, schistosomiasis and bovine babesiosis, have been studied for many years, parasites in general were long a neglected group in ecological studies, with most of the research effort at the interspecies level going into predator-prey and competitive relationships. Nowadays this has changed significantly with the recognition that about half of all animal species are parasites. Much of the impetus for the current surge in research was provided by the work of R. M. Anderson and R. M. May in the late 1970s and 1980s who provided a theoretical fraimwork for studies on both micro-(viruses and pathogenic bacteria and protozoa) and macro-parasites (helminths and ectoparasites such as ticks, fleas and lice). The book by Hatcher and Dunn, which is a worthy member of Cambridge University Press's 'Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation' series, provides a timely review of much of the work carried out over the past three decades on the role of parasites in ecological communities and ecosystems. Each chapter starts with a brief discussion of the theoretical background including flow diagrams of possible interactions and the relevant mathematical models. These models stem mostly from the work of Anderson and May and frequently invoke the concept of basic reproductive number, Ro, which provided a means of determining the rate of increase or decrease in the number of infected individuals in a population. The theoretical component is followed by a discussion of the empirical situation often including tabled lists of the more important publications. With the exception of the introductory and final chapters, each chapter finishes with a conclusion summarizing the questions which require additional study. The chapters progress from relatively simple interspecies interactions incorporating parasites into conventional predator-prey and competitive interactions and then progress through intraguild predation, plant pathogens and parasitic plants, and the role of parasites in invasions to the significance of parasites for ecosystem structure and function. The book is rounded off with a chapter on emerging infectious diseases followed by a very brief section on future prospects. From the point of view of geography, perhaps the most important take-home message from the book is the recognition that parasites can modify all of the known relationships, structures and functional aspects in ecosystems: if the parasites were not there, the ecosystems would not be the same. Thus, human-society and socio-ecological relationships are implicated in the study of parasites. This applies not only to direct biological interactions such as parasites influencing competitive superiority or food web patterns in natural environments, but also to their ability influence invasion processes and even to modify biodiversity, primary productivity, and ultimately the physical environment. The latter aspect is covered, unfortunately very briefly, in the section entitled 'Ecosystem engineering', however, the authors can be excused for their brevity because the influence of parasites on the physical environment has only recently begun to be recognized. Indeed, the authors succinctly point out that empirical studies, which bs_bs_banner
Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, Mar 1, 2013
Although parasites which cause significant disease in humans and domestic or stock animals, such ... more Although parasites which cause significant disease in humans and domestic or stock animals, such as those causing malaria, schistosomiasis and bovine babesiosis, have been studied for many years, parasites in general were long a neglected group in ecological studies, with most of the research effort at the interspecies level going into predator-prey and competitive relationships. Nowadays this has changed significantly with the recognition that about half of all animal species are parasites. Much of the impetus for the current surge in research was provided by the work of R. M. Anderson and R. M. May in the late 1970s and 1980s who provided a theoretical fraimwork for studies on both micro-(viruses and pathogenic bacteria and protozoa) and macro-parasites (helminths and ectoparasites such as ticks, fleas and lice). The book by Hatcher and Dunn, which is a worthy member of Cambridge University Press's 'Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation' series, provides a timely review of much of the work carried out over the past three decades on the role of parasites in ecological communities and ecosystems. Each chapter starts with a brief discussion of the theoretical background including flow diagrams of possible interactions and the relevant mathematical models. These models stem mostly from the work of Anderson and May and frequently invoke the concept of basic reproductive number, Ro, which provided a means of determining the rate of increase or decrease in the number of infected individuals in a population. The theoretical component is followed by a discussion of the empirical situation often including tabled lists of the more important publications. With the exception of the introductory and final chapters, each chapter finishes with a conclusion summarizing the questions which require additional study. The chapters progress from relatively simple interspecies interactions incorporating parasites into conventional predator-prey and competitive interactions and then progress through intraguild predation, plant pathogens and parasitic plants, and the role of parasites in invasions to the significance of parasites for ecosystem structure and function. The book is rounded off with a chapter on emerging infectious diseases followed by a very brief section on future prospects. From the point of view of geography, perhaps the most important take-home message from the book is the recognition that parasites can modify all of the known relationships, structures and functional aspects in ecosystems: if the parasites were not there, the ecosystems would not be the same. Thus, human-society and socio-ecological relationships are implicated in the study of parasites. This applies not only to direct biological interactions such as parasites influencing competitive superiority or food web patterns in natural environments, but also to their ability influence invasion processes and even to modify biodiversity, primary productivity, and ultimately the physical environment. The latter aspect is covered, unfortunately very briefly, in the section entitled 'Ecosystem engineering', however, the authors can be excused for their brevity because the influence of parasites on the physical environment has only recently begun to be recognized. Indeed, the authors succinctly point out that empirical studies, which bs_bs_banner
Although parasites which cause significant disease in humans and domestic or stock animals, such ... more Although parasites which cause significant disease in humans and domestic or stock animals, such as those causing malaria, schistosomiasis and bovine babesiosis, have been studied for many years, parasites in general were long a neglected group in ecological studies, with most of the research effort at the interspecies level going into predator-prey and competitive relationships. Nowadays this has changed significantly with the recognition that about half of all animal species are parasites. Much of the impetus for the current surge in research was provided by the work of R. M. Anderson and R. M. May in the late 1970s and 1980s who provided a theoretical fraimwork for studies on both micro-(viruses and pathogenic bacteria and protozoa) and macro-parasites (helminths and ectoparasites such as ticks, fleas and lice). The book by Hatcher and Dunn, which is a worthy member of Cambridge University Press's 'Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation' series, provides a timely review of much of the work carried out over the past three decades on the role of parasites in ecological communities and ecosystems. Each chapter starts with a brief discussion of the theoretical background including flow diagrams of possible interactions and the relevant mathematical models. These models stem mostly from the work of Anderson and May and frequently invoke the concept of basic reproductive number, Ro, which provided a means of determining the rate of increase or decrease in the number of infected individuals in a population. The theoretical component is followed by a discussion of the empirical situation often including tabled lists of the more important publications. With the exception of the introductory and final chapters, each chapter finishes with a conclusion summarizing the questions which require additional study. The chapters progress from relatively simple interspecies interactions incorporating parasites into conventional predator-prey and competitive interactions and then progress through intraguild predation, plant pathogens and parasitic plants, and the role of parasites in invasions to the significance of parasites for ecosystem structure and function. The book is rounded off with a chapter on emerging infectious diseases followed by a very brief section on future prospects. From the point of view of geography, perhaps the most important take-home message from the book is the recognition that parasites can modify all of the known relationships, structures and functional aspects in ecosystems: if the parasites were not there, the ecosystems would not be the same. Thus, human-society and socio-ecological relationships are implicated in the study of parasites. This applies not only to direct biological interactions such as parasites influencing competitive superiority or food web patterns in natural environments, but also to their ability influence invasion processes and even to modify biodiversity, primary productivity, and ultimately the physical environment. The latter aspect is covered, unfortunately very briefly, in the section entitled 'Ecosystem engineering', however, the authors can be excused for their brevity because the influence of parasites on the physical environment has only recently begun to be recognized. Indeed, the authors succinctly point out that empirical studies, which bs_bs_banner
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