The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic Ecosystems
Amphipods are a key component of aquatic ecosystems due to their distribution, abundance and ecological role. They also serve as hosts for many micro- and macro-parasites. The importance of parasites and the necessity to include them in ecological studies has been increasingly recognized in the last...
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2429 |
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| author | Luisa Giari Elisa Anna Fano Giuseppe Castaldelli Daniel Grabner Bernd Sures |
| author_facet | Luisa Giari Elisa Anna Fano Giuseppe Castaldelli Daniel Grabner Bernd Sures |
| author_sort | Luisa Giari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Amphipods are a key component of aquatic ecosystems due to their distribution, abundance and ecological role. They also serve as hosts for many micro- and macro-parasites. The importance of parasites and the necessity to include them in ecological studies has been increasingly recognized in the last two decades by ecologists and conservation biologists. Parasites are able to alter survival, growth, feeding, mobility, mating, fecundity and stressors’ response of their amphipod hosts. In addition to their modulating effects on host population size and dynamics, parasites affect community structure and food webs in different ways: by increasing the susceptibility of amphipods to predation, by quantitatively and qualitatively changing the host diet, and by modifying competitive interactions. Human-induced stressors such as climate change, pollution and species introduction that affect host–parasite equilibrium, may enhance or reduce the infection effects on hosts and ecosystems. The present review illustrates the importance of parasites for ecosystem processes using examples from aquatic environments and amphipods as a host group. As seen from the literature, amphipod–parasite systems are likely a key component of ecological processes, but more quantitative data from natural populations and field evidence are necessary to support the results obtained by experimental research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:43:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2758a7d792994d58b3265bcddc2e3841 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:43:39Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-2758a7d792994d58b3265bcddc2e38412023-11-20T11:49:50ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-08-01129242910.3390/w12092429The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic EcosystemsLuisa Giari0Elisa Anna Fano1Giuseppe Castaldelli2Daniel Grabner3Bernd Sures4Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, L. Borsari St. 46, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, L. Borsari St. 46, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, L. Borsari St. 46, 44121 Ferrara, ItalyDepartment of Aquatic Ecology and Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 2, 45141 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Aquatic Ecology and Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 2, 45141 Essen, GermanyAmphipods are a key component of aquatic ecosystems due to their distribution, abundance and ecological role. They also serve as hosts for many micro- and macro-parasites. The importance of parasites and the necessity to include them in ecological studies has been increasingly recognized in the last two decades by ecologists and conservation biologists. Parasites are able to alter survival, growth, feeding, mobility, mating, fecundity and stressors’ response of their amphipod hosts. In addition to their modulating effects on host population size and dynamics, parasites affect community structure and food webs in different ways: by increasing the susceptibility of amphipods to predation, by quantitatively and qualitatively changing the host diet, and by modifying competitive interactions. Human-induced stressors such as climate change, pollution and species introduction that affect host–parasite equilibrium, may enhance or reduce the infection effects on hosts and ecosystems. The present review illustrates the importance of parasites for ecosystem processes using examples from aquatic environments and amphipods as a host group. As seen from the literature, amphipod–parasite systems are likely a key component of ecological processes, but more quantitative data from natural populations and field evidence are necessary to support the results obtained by experimental research.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2429parasitismaquatic ecosystemshost manipulationfood websfeeding ecologycompetitive and predatory interactions |
| spellingShingle | Luisa Giari Elisa Anna Fano Giuseppe Castaldelli Daniel Grabner Bernd Sures The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic Ecosystems Water parasitism aquatic ecosystems host manipulation food webs feeding ecology competitive and predatory interactions |
| title | The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic Ecosystems |
| title_full | The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic Ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic Ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic Ecosystems |
| title_short | The Ecological Importance of Amphipod–Parasite Associations for Aquatic Ecosystems |
| title_sort | ecological importance of amphipod parasite associations for aquatic ecosystems |
| topic | parasitism aquatic ecosystems host manipulation food webs feeding ecology competitive and predatory interactions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2429 |
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