Advanced Ecology

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  • Created by: josie666
  • Created on: 10-04-19 11:21

A

Advantages

  • The interactions between hosts and parasites are important drivers in ecological structures
  • Manages the host species population by killing off weak hosts
  • Aids in the monitoring the health of ecosystems
  • Can provide useful information about the needs of the host
  • Important part of the earth's biodiversity
  • Used for pharmaceutical needs e.g. leeches, maggots and hookworms
  • Account for a large number of species on earth - at least 75,000 species of helmids, no way of quantifying the number of microparasite species (Dobson et al., 2008)

Disadvantages

  • Could lead to the extinction of the host
  • May make a population decrease in numbers further, if there is already an environmental stressor
  • Millions of species, including human beings are killed or harmed through parasitic infections
  • There is a high cost for the medical attention and facilities
  • Infection of crops and livestock threatens global food security
  • Can pollute freshwater-ways with their free living larval stages

Evaluation

Despite millions being harmed or killed through parasitic means, it is important to remember that parasites account for a huge amount of the worlds biodiversity. The trophic interaction between a parasite and its host is equally important to the trophic interaction between a cheetah and gazelle (Gomez and Nichols, 2013). There is so much that is unknown about parasites and so the consequences of parasitic species becoming extinct is unknown. However, due to their natural presence in almost all ecosystems it should be assumed that they play critical roles in maintaining ecosystem health.

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