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Ecology of Parasites in Mudflat Ecosystems

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Mudflat Ecology

Part of the book series: Aquatic Ecology Series ((AQEC,volume 7))

Abstract

Mudflats are not only home to large numbers of bivalves, polychaetes, crustaceans, fish and birds, but also to diverse communities of parasites. In this chapter, we illustrate and explore how the resulting parasite-host interactions can affect host populations, communities and food webs in mudflat ecosystems, equalling in importance the effects resulting from other species interactions, such as predation and competition. We first give an overview of the distribution and ecology of typical parasites occurring in mudflat ecosystems. Then we illustrate the main abiotic and biotic drivers of parasite infection levels in mudflat hosts. Following this, we conceptualise and illustrate the many direct and indirect effects of parasite-host interactions on host populations, communities and food webs in mudflat ecosystems. Finally, we highlight the potential impact of ongoing global changes such as increasing temperature and species introductions on parasite-host interactions in mudflat ecosystems. With this condensed overview of the presence and ecological role of parasites in mudflat ecosystems, we hope to increase the appreciation of the manifold ecological effects of parasite-host interactions on host populations, communities and food webs of mudflat ecosystems, and to spark further research in this field.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Peter Beninger and an anonymous reviewer for constructive comments on our chapter. Dörte Poszig is thanked for providing the drawings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, Den Burg, The Netherlands

    David W. Thieltges

  2. Department of Bioscience, Marine Ecology, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

    Kim N. Mouritsen

  3. Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Robert Poulin

Authors
  1. David W. Thieltges
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  2. Kim N. Mouritsen
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  3. Robert Poulin
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Correspondence to David W. Thieltges .

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  1. MMS, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France

    Peter G. Beninger

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Thieltges, D.W., Mouritsen, K.N., Poulin, R. (2018). Ecology of Parasites in Mudflat Ecosystems. In: Beninger, P. (eds) Mudflat Ecology. Aquatic Ecology Series, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99194-8_9

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