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Born to be wild
Editorial
Special Issue: Wildlife Parasitology
Born to be wild Ana Camejo (Editor) and Danielle T. Loughlin (Managing Editor)
Over the past 30 years, Trends in Parasitology has provided an overview of recent research in emerging areas of parasitology to a wide audience of readers. The journal has focused on a large number of parasitic infections, most of them of medical interest. Nonetheless, we could not help but to notice the growing interest of our community of readers in articles connected to wildlife parasitology. Parasites are ubiquitous in wildlife populations. However, the study of parasites and the implications of parasitism in the health of such populations has remained elusive, not only because research on the relationships of parasites with humans has gathered greater interest from researchers, but also because examining parasite host interactions in the wild remains a daunting task. Technical limitations and lack of information on geographic distribution, host range, transmission patterns, and sensitivity to stressors, all represent daily challenges to wildlife parasitologists. Nevertheless, many recent, important advances have been made in our understanding of the relationships between wildlife, parasites, humans, and the ecosystems that support them. Trends in Parasitology is devoting this and its next issue to exploring recent advances in our understanding of the variables that impact parasite host relationships in wildlife. Our first issue explores how parasite diversity influences parasite host interactions in the wild. Selective pressure from the environment is the driving force behind biodiversity, but parasites can alter their own environment and ultimately their own diversity, through a process known as niche construction. Alan Lymbery reflects on how studying niche construction might provide new insights into genetic diversity of parasites and their hosts. In spite of present efforts, significant problems remain in documenting the extent of parasite biodiversity on Earth. Using helminth parasites of Australasian marsupials as an example, Beveridge and Spratt examine and review some of these challenges, such as difficulties in collecting uncommon host species, the presence of cryptic species and lack of taxonomic expertise. As many notable wildlife parasites negatively impact livestock and represent the majority of zoonotic emerging pathogens, several articles in this issue discuss the influence of parasite diversity on wildlife and human health. Adlard et al. explore the interactions of parasites in aquatic wildlife and highlight the need for interdisciplinary approaches to ameliorate disease impacts in aquatic Corresponding author: Camejo, A. ([email protected]). 1471-4922/ ß 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2015.03.002
wildlife systems. Kapel and Fredensborg discuss the risk of transmission of foodborne parasites from wildlife to humans. This potential risk deserves more attention and will become increasingly important in a world where ‘novel’ and exotic foods are being commercialized as an alternative source of protein. Still on the topic of emergent diseases, Tompkins et al. critically review the current vertebrate wildlife emerging infectious disease literature and provide direction to researchers as to where efforts should be focused to further prevent disease emergence. Hoberg et al. take it one step further and present an integrated, interdisciplinary view of parasitology, bridging taxonomy, systematics, and historical ecology. It is the authors’ opinion that this new mindset can promote approaches more suitable to anticipating and managing emergent parasitic diseases. The second issue takes a closer look at how the dynamic nature of both ecosystems and parasite host relationships influence each other. A number of stressors, such as climate change and human activity, can influence parasite life cycles and, ultimately, disease transmission. Hegglin et al., Dunn and Hatcher, and Weinstein and Lafferty explore how transmission, biological invasion, and emergence of parasites are interlinked and are influenced by human activity. Dobson et al. discuss the development of predictive models to understand the impacts of climate change on helminth parasites and other pathogens of Arctic wildlife. Hosts are typically co-infected by multiple parasite species. Rynkiewicz et al. argue that the individual host can be considered an ecosystem and review the applicability of ecosystem ecology for understanding within-host parasite ecosystems and recommend methods for translating these concepts into practical applications to the study of wildlife disease. It has become increasingly clear that parasites can have significant impacts on the dynamics of wildlife populations. Recently, researchers have shifted from using observational approaches to infer the impact of parasites on the health and fitness of individuals to using anti-parasite drug treatments to directly test the consequences of infection. Pedersen et al. review the results of treatment experiments and discuss how they can be used to improve our understanding of the role of parasites in wildlife populations. Human health ultimately depends upon products and services provided by the ecosystem. Diversity is a crucial aspect of a sustainable ecosystem and is often used as an indicator of the overall ecosystem health. The One Health Initiative is a movement that promotes the notion that human health is connected to the wildlife, parasites, and the ecosystems that support them. Jenkins et al. present Trends in Parasitology, April 2015, Vol. 31, No. 4
121
Editorial their perspective on how One Health and wildlife parasitology can collaborate to help communities, researchers, and policymakers prioritize issues for action through a more socio-ecological approach to issues at the interface of animal, human, and environmental health. We hope this special issue inspires you to move the field of wildlife parasitology forward by highlighting opportunities for research and encouraging collaborations. We send a special thank you to the former editor
122
Trends in Parasitology April 2015, Vol. 31, No. 4
of Trends in Parasitology, Lynn Sherrer, for conceiving the theme of these issues, and to our guest editors from IJP-PAW, Andrew Thompson and Lydden Polley, for their insight and guidance as we constructed this issue. We would like to thank all the authors and reviewers for their contributions to this special issue, and we hope you enjoy reading it. We welcome your comments and ideas; you can always contact us with your feedback or questions at [email protected].
Special Issue: Wildlife Parasitology
Born to be wild Ana Camejo (Editor) and Danielle T. Loughlin (Managing Editor)
Over the past 30 years, Trends in Parasitology has provided an overview of recent research in emerging areas of parasitology to a wide audience of readers. The journal has focused on a large number of parasitic infections, most of them of medical interest. Nonetheless, we could not help but to notice the growing interest of our community of readers in articles connected to wildlife parasitology. Parasites are ubiquitous in wildlife populations. However, the study of parasites and the implications of parasitism in the health of such populations has remained elusive, not only because research on the relationships of parasites with humans has gathered greater interest from researchers, but also because examining parasite host interactions in the wild remains a daunting task. Technical limitations and lack of information on geographic distribution, host range, transmission patterns, and sensitivity to stressors, all represent daily challenges to wildlife parasitologists. Nevertheless, many recent, important advances have been made in our understanding of the relationships between wildlife, parasites, humans, and the ecosystems that support them. Trends in Parasitology is devoting this and its next issue to exploring recent advances in our understanding of the variables that impact parasite host relationships in wildlife. Our first issue explores how parasite diversity influences parasite host interactions in the wild. Selective pressure from the environment is the driving force behind biodiversity, but parasites can alter their own environment and ultimately their own diversity, through a process known as niche construction. Alan Lymbery reflects on how studying niche construction might provide new insights into genetic diversity of parasites and their hosts. In spite of present efforts, significant problems remain in documenting the extent of parasite biodiversity on Earth. Using helminth parasites of Australasian marsupials as an example, Beveridge and Spratt examine and review some of these challenges, such as difficulties in collecting uncommon host species, the presence of cryptic species and lack of taxonomic expertise. As many notable wildlife parasites negatively impact livestock and represent the majority of zoonotic emerging pathogens, several articles in this issue discuss the influence of parasite diversity on wildlife and human health. Adlard et al. explore the interactions of parasites in aquatic wildlife and highlight the need for interdisciplinary approaches to ameliorate disease impacts in aquatic Corresponding author: Camejo, A. ([email protected]). 1471-4922/ ß 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2015.03.002
wildlife systems. Kapel and Fredensborg discuss the risk of transmission of foodborne parasites from wildlife to humans. This potential risk deserves more attention and will become increasingly important in a world where ‘novel’ and exotic foods are being commercialized as an alternative source of protein. Still on the topic of emergent diseases, Tompkins et al. critically review the current vertebrate wildlife emerging infectious disease literature and provide direction to researchers as to where efforts should be focused to further prevent disease emergence. Hoberg et al. take it one step further and present an integrated, interdisciplinary view of parasitology, bridging taxonomy, systematics, and historical ecology. It is the authors’ opinion that this new mindset can promote approaches more suitable to anticipating and managing emergent parasitic diseases. The second issue takes a closer look at how the dynamic nature of both ecosystems and parasite host relationships influence each other. A number of stressors, such as climate change and human activity, can influence parasite life cycles and, ultimately, disease transmission. Hegglin et al., Dunn and Hatcher, and Weinstein and Lafferty explore how transmission, biological invasion, and emergence of parasites are interlinked and are influenced by human activity. Dobson et al. discuss the development of predictive models to understand the impacts of climate change on helminth parasites and other pathogens of Arctic wildlife. Hosts are typically co-infected by multiple parasite species. Rynkiewicz et al. argue that the individual host can be considered an ecosystem and review the applicability of ecosystem ecology for understanding within-host parasite ecosystems and recommend methods for translating these concepts into practical applications to the study of wildlife disease. It has become increasingly clear that parasites can have significant impacts on the dynamics of wildlife populations. Recently, researchers have shifted from using observational approaches to infer the impact of parasites on the health and fitness of individuals to using anti-parasite drug treatments to directly test the consequences of infection. Pedersen et al. review the results of treatment experiments and discuss how they can be used to improve our understanding of the role of parasites in wildlife populations. Human health ultimately depends upon products and services provided by the ecosystem. Diversity is a crucial aspect of a sustainable ecosystem and is often used as an indicator of the overall ecosystem health. The One Health Initiative is a movement that promotes the notion that human health is connected to the wildlife, parasites, and the ecosystems that support them. Jenkins et al. present Trends in Parasitology, April 2015, Vol. 31, No. 4
121
Editorial their perspective on how One Health and wildlife parasitology can collaborate to help communities, researchers, and policymakers prioritize issues for action through a more socio-ecological approach to issues at the interface of animal, human, and environmental health. We hope this special issue inspires you to move the field of wildlife parasitology forward by highlighting opportunities for research and encouraging collaborations. We send a special thank you to the former editor
122
Trends in Parasitology April 2015, Vol. 31, No. 4
of Trends in Parasitology, Lynn Sherrer, for conceiving the theme of these issues, and to our guest editors from IJP-PAW, Andrew Thompson and Lydden Polley, for their insight and guidance as we constructed this issue. We would like to thank all the authors and reviewers for their contributions to this special issue, and we hope you enjoy reading it. We welcome your comments and ideas; you can always contact us with your feedback or questions at [email protected].