Biases in parasite biodiversity research: why some helminth species attract more research than others
As the number of known and described parasite species grows every year, one might ask: how much do we actually know about these species beyond the fact they exist? For free-living taxa, research effort is biased toward a small subset of species based on their properties or human-centric factors. Her...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-08-01
|
| Series: | International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213224423000330 |
| _version_ | 1797752967746551808 |
|---|---|
| author | Robert Poulin Bronwen Presswell Jerusha Bennett Daniela de Angeli Dutra Priscila M. Salloum |
| author_facet | Robert Poulin Bronwen Presswell Jerusha Bennett Daniela de Angeli Dutra Priscila M. Salloum |
| author_sort | Robert Poulin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the number of known and described parasite species grows every year, one might ask: how much do we actually know about these species beyond the fact they exist? For free-living taxa, research effort is biased toward a small subset of species based on their properties or human-centric factors. Here, using a large data set on over 2500 helminth parasite species described in the past two decades, we test the importance of several predictors on two measures of research effort: the number of times a species description is cited following its publication, and the number of times a species’ name is mentioned in the scientific literature. Our analysis highlights some taxonomic biases: for instance, descriptions of acanthocephalans and nematodes tend to receive more citations than those of other helminths, and species of cestodes are less frequently mentioned in the literature than other helminths. We also found that helminths infecting host species of conservation concern receive less research attention, perhaps because of the constraints associated with research on threatened animals, while those infecting host species of human use receive greater research effort. Intriguingly, we found that species originally described by many co-authors subsequently attract more research effort than those described by one or few authors, and that research effort correlates negatively with the human population size of the country where a species was discovered, but not with its economic strength, measured by its gross domestic product. Overall, our findings reveal that we have conducted very little research, or none at all, on the majority of helminth parasite species following their discovery. The biases in study effort we identify have serious implications for future research into parasite biodiversity and conservation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:11:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-368715718c56475ab2388eb3696c1c4d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2213-2244 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:11:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |
| spelling | doaj.art-368715718c56475ab2388eb3696c1c4d2023-08-06T04:37:17ZengElsevierInternational Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife2213-22442023-08-01218998Biases in parasite biodiversity research: why some helminth species attract more research than othersRobert Poulin0Bronwen Presswell1Jerusha Bennett2Daniela de Angeli Dutra3Priscila M. Salloum4Corresponding author.; Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New ZealandDepartment of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New ZealandDepartment of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New ZealandDepartment of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New ZealandDepartment of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New ZealandAs the number of known and described parasite species grows every year, one might ask: how much do we actually know about these species beyond the fact they exist? For free-living taxa, research effort is biased toward a small subset of species based on their properties or human-centric factors. Here, using a large data set on over 2500 helminth parasite species described in the past two decades, we test the importance of several predictors on two measures of research effort: the number of times a species description is cited following its publication, and the number of times a species’ name is mentioned in the scientific literature. Our analysis highlights some taxonomic biases: for instance, descriptions of acanthocephalans and nematodes tend to receive more citations than those of other helminths, and species of cestodes are less frequently mentioned in the literature than other helminths. We also found that helminths infecting host species of conservation concern receive less research attention, perhaps because of the constraints associated with research on threatened animals, while those infecting host species of human use receive greater research effort. Intriguingly, we found that species originally described by many co-authors subsequently attract more research effort than those described by one or few authors, and that research effort correlates negatively with the human population size of the country where a species was discovered, but not with its economic strength, measured by its gross domestic product. Overall, our findings reveal that we have conducted very little research, or none at all, on the majority of helminth parasite species following their discovery. The biases in study effort we identify have serious implications for future research into parasite biodiversity and conservation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213224423000330ConservationHuman usesNumber of authorsResearch effortSpecies knowledgeTaxonomy |
| spellingShingle | Robert Poulin Bronwen Presswell Jerusha Bennett Daniela de Angeli Dutra Priscila M. Salloum Biases in parasite biodiversity research: why some helminth species attract more research than others International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife Conservation Human uses Number of authors Research effort Species knowledge Taxonomy |
| title | Biases in parasite biodiversity research: why some helminth species attract more research than others |
| title_full | Biases in parasite biodiversity research: why some helminth species attract more research than others |
| title_fullStr | Biases in parasite biodiversity research: why some helminth species attract more research than others |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biases in parasite biodiversity research: why some helminth species attract more research than others |
| title_short | Biases in parasite biodiversity research: why some helminth species attract more research than others |
| title_sort | biases in parasite biodiversity research why some helminth species attract more research than others |
| topic | Conservation Human uses Number of authors Research effort Species knowledge Taxonomy |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213224423000330 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertpoulin biasesinparasitebiodiversityresearchwhysomehelminthspeciesattractmoreresearchthanothers AT bronwenpresswell biasesinparasitebiodiversityresearchwhysomehelminthspeciesattractmoreresearchthanothers AT jerushabennett biasesinparasitebiodiversityresearchwhysomehelminthspeciesattractmoreresearchthanothers AT danieladeangelidutra biasesinparasitebiodiversityresearchwhysomehelminthspeciesattractmoreresearchthanothers AT priscilamsalloum biasesinparasitebiodiversityresearchwhysomehelminthspeciesattractmoreresearchthanothers |