Flashcards on Introduction to Parasitism
Introduction to Parasitism: A Student's Guide to Ecology & Diversity
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Parasite Effects on Hosts & Populations
255 cards
Card 1
Question: What is the range of effects parasites can have on individual hosts as described in the text?
Answer: Effects range from clear realized harm (e.g., reduced fecundity or host death) to undetectable negative effects where fitness may be reduced but not u
Card 2
Question: Give examples where parasite infection reduces host fecundity to zero.
Answer: Trematode‑infected snails, cestode‑infected sticklebacks, microparasite‑infected water fleas, and barnacle‑infected crustaceans can have fecundity dec
Card 3
Question: How does Trichinella spiralis cause harm in human hosts?
Answer: Obligate development of gall‑like nurse cells from larval Trichinella spiralis causes permanent damage to individual muscle cells.
Card 4
Question: What causes mortality associated with Schistosoma mansoni in humans?
Answer: Deposition of eggs in the host’s liver and other tissues leads to mortality associated with Schistosoma mansoni.
Card 5
Question: Why might some parasites appear benign even if they can reduce host fitness?
Answer: Because under ecologically relevant conditions the negative effects may not be expressed, so fitness reductions are possible but not realized in those
Card 6
Question: Why is it important to understand where a host–parasite interaction sits along the harm continuum?
Answer: Because consistent effects on individuals determine impacts at higher scales (populations, communities) and influence parasite‑mediated natural select
Card 7
Question: What evidence shows large variation between parasite species in effects on hosts?
Answer: Examples: Plasmodium falciparum is more pathogenic in humans than other Plasmodium species; Trypanosoma b. brucei is benign in many antelope but letha
Card 8
Question: What did Ebert (2005) experimentally demonstrate about parasite species effects?
Answer: Comparing water fleas exposed to four microparasite species showed some parasites cause catastrophic reductions in host reproduction and fitness while
Card 9
Question: What methodological caution is emphasized when inferring parasite harm from survey data or carcasses?
Answer: Two pitfalls: (1) Presence of a parasite does not equal disease, and survey data alone usually cannot distinguish this; (2) Without experimental manip
Card 10
Question: Why did early parasitology focus primarily on effects at the level of host individuals and populations?
Answer: Because clinical parasitologists needed to characterize and control important human and veterinary pathogens, which required understanding effects on