There’s a parasitic public relations problem. Parasites are seen as something that should be eradicated rather than protected, in contrast to the many adorable mammals, fish, and birds that compel our attention and financial support for conservation. Only 4% of known parasites, however, are capable of infecting people; the remainder provide crucial ecological functions, such as regulating species that might otherwise become invasive as a result of population growth. But since only around 10% of parasites are known to exist, most research and conservation initiatives overlook them.
A network of scientists worldwide is working to change that. About a dozen notable parasite ecologists, including Chelsea Wood of the University of Washington, released an ambitious global conservation plan for parasites in the journal Biological Conservation on August 1.
Assistant professor Wood of the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences said, “The biological diversity of parasites is highly varied, but as a society, we do not value this diversity.” This essay aims to draw attention to the ways in which we are unknowingly destroying parasites and the functions they provide to the ecosystem for use Doxycycline 100mg .
The authors recommend 12 goals for the next ten years that, when paired with campaigning, administration, and research, could enhance.
An illustration showing the twelve goals of the conservation strategy
There are twelve major goals in the parasite conservation plan.Colin Carlson, Columbia University
“Even though our knowledge of most parasite species is limited, we can still take action now to conserve parasite biodiversity,” said Skylar Hopkins, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University who is also co-leading the project and the publication.
Probably the most ambitious goal is to characterize half of the world’s parasites during the next ten years. The researchers claim that providing taxonomic descriptions makes it possible to name species, which is an essential stage in the conservation process.
The second project co-lead, Colin Carlson, an assistant professor at Georgetown University, asserts that “if species don’t have a name, we can’t save them.” We have long thought that this applies to most animals and plants, yet researchers have only discovered a small percentage of all parasites on Earth. The final frontiers are the deep sea, the deep space, and the world that resides inside every living thing on Earth.
Most importantly, the researchers stress that neither humans nor farmed animals are harmed by any of the parasites included in their conservation plan. They argue that in order to safeguard both human and animal health, these parasites must be controlled.
This research is part of a special edition focused on parasite conservation. A study conducted in the collection under the direction of Wood comes to the conclusion that both breakouts of some parasite species and the total extinction of other parasite species are likely in a changing world, and that parasite responses to environmental change are most likely complex.
abnormally shaped frog
A deformed Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla). The parasite Ribeiroia ondatrae infects amphibians, like this frog, and can cause limb malformations.Pieter Johnson from the University of Colorado Boulder
“We cannot assume that every parasite is headed for extinction or a major outbreak; instead, we must acknowledge that different parasite taxa will respond differently from one another,” stated Wood.
It is often necessary for parasites to have two or more host species in order to complete their life cycle. For example, some parasites first infect fish or amphibians and then need to travel to birds in order to multiply. According to Wood, they take cunning measures to ensure this happens, often altering the original host’s behavior or even physical characteristics to make it more likely that birds will eat these fish or amphibians. This is how the parasite eventually gets to its ultimate prey, a bird.
Wood and colleagues made the decision to look into how altering parasite habitats affects parasite abundance as a result of this dynamic. They intended to conduct an experiment involving sixteen ponds in central California’s East Bay area. Scientists put bird houses, floating perches, and mallard decoys in half of the ponds in an effort to temporarily alter the natural environment and boost biodiversity.
