Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns and processes in helminth parasite communities: an overview

  • Chapter
Parasite Communities: Patterns and Processes

Abstract

The structure of helminth communities, their dynamic components and processes and their range of diversities, have long held fascination for parasitologists. Perhaps the earliest body of work in this area was generated by the great Russian academician, V. A. Dogiel and his colleagues in the 1930s (Dogiel, 1964). While it is generally agreed that Crofton (1971a, b) was largely responsible for introducing a quantitative approach to the study of helminth population dynamics, most agree that Holmes (1961, 1962) initiated a quantitative approach to the study of helminth community dynamics. Since these bench-mark publications, significant advances have been made in each area, both empirically and conceptually. Indeed, some of the terminology and ideas which will be highlighted throughout this book were not in the literature at the time the idea for this publication was conceived a little over two years ago.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Brooks, D. R. (1980) Allopatric speciation and non-interactive parasite community structure. Syst. Zool., 30, 192–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bush, A. O. and Holmes, J. C. (1986a) Intestinal parasites of lesser scaup ducks: patterns of association. Can. J. Zool., 64, 132–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bush, A. O. and Holmes, J. C. (1986b) Intestinal parasites of lesser scaup ducks: an interactive community. Can. J. Zool., 64, 142–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caswell, H. (1978) Predator-mediated coexistence: a nonequilibrium model. Am. Nat., 112, 127–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chappell, L. H. (1969) Competitive exclusion between two intestinal parasites of the three-spined stickleback’ Gasterosteus aculeatus L. J. Parasitol., 55, 775–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chubb, J. C. (1963) On the characterization of the parasite fauna of the fish of Lynn Tegid. Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 141, 609–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell, J. H. (1980) Diversity and the coevolution of competitors, or the ghost of competition past. Oikos, 35, 131–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connor, E. F. and McCoy, E. D. (1979) The statistics and biology of the species-area relationship. Am Nat., 113, 791–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crofton, H. D. (1971a) A quantitative approach to parasitism. Parasitology, 62, 179–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crofton, H. D. (1971b) A model for host-parasite relationships. Parasitology, 63, 343–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, J. M. (1975) Assembly of species communities. In Ecology and Evolution of Communities, (eds M. L. Cody and J. M. Diamond), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp. 342–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobson, A. P. (1985) The population dynamics of competition between parasites. Parasitology, 91, 317–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dogiel, V. A. (1964) General Parasitology, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esch, G. W. (1971) Impact of ecological succession on the parasite fauna in centrarchids from oligotrophic and eutrophic ecosystems. Am. Midi. Nat., 86, 160–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esch, G. W. (1983) The population and community ecology of cestodes. In Biology of the Eucestoda, vol. I (eds C. Arme and P. W. Pappas), Academic Press, London and New York, pp. 81–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esch, G. W., Gibbons, J. W. and Bourque, J. E. (1975) An analysis of the relationship between stress and parasitism. Am. Midi. Nat., 93, 339–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esch, G. W., Kennedy, C. R., Bush, A. O. and Aho, J. M. (1988) Patterns in helminth communities in freshwater fish in Great Britain: alternative strategies for colonization. Parasitology, 96, 519–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gause, G. F. (1934) The Struggle for Existence, Hafner, New York, pp. 1–163, (reprinted 1964 by Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD).

    Google Scholar 

  • Goater, C. P. and Bush, A. O. (1988) Intestinal helminth communities in long-billed curlews: the importance of congeneric host-specialists. Hol. Arctic Ecol., 11, 140–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goater, T. M., Esch, G. W. and Bush, A. O. (1987) Helminth parasites of sympatric salamanders: ecological concepts at infracommunity, component and compound community levels. Am. Midi. Nat., 118, 289–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hairston, N. G. (1984) Inferences and experimental results in guild structure. In Ecological Communities: Conceptual Issues and the Evidence (eds D. R. Strong Jr, D. Simberloff, L. G. Abele and A. B. Thistle, Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp. 19–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halvorsen, O. (1971) Studies on the helminth fauna of Norway. XVIII. On the composition of the parasite fauna of coarse fish in the River Glomma, Southeastern Norway. Norw. J. Zool., 19, 181–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halvorsen, O. (1976) Negative interaction amongst parasites. In Ecological Aspects of Parasitology, (ed. C. R. Kennedy), North-Holland Publishing Co., pp. 99–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanski, I. (1982) Dynamics of regional distribution: the core and satellite species hypothesis. Oikos, 38, 210–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. C. (1961) Effects of concurrent infections on Hymenolepis diminuta (Cestoda) and Moniliformis dubius (Acanthocephala). I. General effects and comparison with crowding. J. Parasitol., 47, 209–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. C. (1962) Effect of concurrent infections on Hymenolepis diminuta (Cestoda) and Moniliformis dubius (Acanthocephala), II. Effects on growth. J. Parasitol., 48, 87–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. C. (1973) Site selection by parasitic helminths: interspecific interactions, site segregation, and their importance to the development of helminth communities. Can. J. Zool., 51, 333–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. C. (1979) Parasite populations and host community structure. In Host-parasite Interfaces (ed. B. B. Nickol), Academic Press, New York, pp. 27–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. C. and Podesta, R. (1968) The helminths of wolves and coyotes from the forested regions of Alberta. Can. J. Zool., 46, 1193–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. C. and Price, P. W. (1980) Parasite communities: the roles of phylogeny and ecology. Syst. Zool., 29, 203–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, J. C. and Price, P. W. (1986) Communities of parasites. In Community Ecology: Patterns and Processes (eds, D. J. Anderson and J. Kikkawa), Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, pp. 187–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood, D. E. and Welch, H. E. (1980) A seasonal study of the parasites of the red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus in Manitoba and Arkansas. Can. J. Zool., 58, 528–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, S. R., Courtney, C. H. and Forrester, D. H. (1978) Community ecology of the helminth parasites in brown pelicans. Wilson Bull., 90, 587–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, G. E. (1957) Concluding remarks. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia in Quantitative Biology, 22, 415–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, K. C. (1987) Infracommunity structure of enteric helminths in the yellow-bellied slider, Trachemys scripta scripta. Master’s thesis, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., 46 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, C. R. and Burrough, R. J. (1978) Parasites of trout and perch in Malham Tarn. Field Studies, 4, 617–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, C. R., Bush, A. O. and Aho, J. M. (1986) Patterns in helminth communities: why are fish and birds different? Parasitology, 93, 205–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawton, J. H. and Strong, D. R. (1981) Community patterns and competition in folivorous insects. Am. Nat., 118, 317–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leong, T. S. and Holmes, J. C. (1981) Communities of Metazoan parasites in open water fishes of Cold Lake, Alberta. J. Fish Biol., 18, 693–714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lotz, J. M. and Font, W. F. (1985) Structure of enteric helminth communities in two populations of Eptesicus fuscus (Chiroptera). Can. J. Zool., 63, 2969–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R. H. and Wilson, E. O. (1967) The Theory of Island Biogeography, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitter, C. and Brooks, D. R. (1983) Phylogenetic aspects of coevolution. In Coevolution (eds, D. J. Futuyma and M. Slatkin), Sinauer, Sunderland, pp. 65–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neraasen, T. G. and Holmes, J. C. (1975) The circulation of cestodes among three species of geese resting on the Anderson River Delta, Canada. Acta. Parasitol. Pol., 23, 277–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noble, E. R. and Noble, G. A. (1982) Parasitology: The Biology of Animal Parasites, Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen, R. W. and Pemberton, R. T. (1962) Helminth infection of the starling (Sturnus vulgaris L.) in northern England. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 139, 557–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pianka, E. R. (1983) Evolutionary Ecology, Harper and Row Publishers, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, P. W. (1980) Evolutionary Biology of Parasites, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, P. W. (1984) Communities of specialists: vacant niches in ecological and evolutionary time. In Communities: Conceptual Issues and the Evidence (eds, D. R. Strong Jr, D. Simberloff, L. G. Abele and A. B. Thistle), Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp. 510–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, P. W. (1987) Evolution in parasite communities. Int. J. Parasitol., 17, 203–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riggs, M. R. and Esch, G. W. (1987) The suprapopulation dynamics of Bothriocephalus acheilognathi in a North Carolina cooling reservoir: abundance, dispersion and prevalence. J. Parasitol., 73, 877–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodenberg, G. W. and Pence, D. B. (1978) Circulation of helminth species in a rodent population from the high plains of Texas. Occasional Papers of the Museum Texas Tech University, No. 56, 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rohde, K. (1979) A critical evaluation of intrinsic and extrinsic factors responsible for niche restriction in parasites. Am. Nat., 114, 648–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Root, R. B. (1967) The niche exploitation pattern of the blue-green gnatcatcher. Ecol. Monogr., 37, 317–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schad, G. A. (1963) Niche diversification in a parasitic species flock. Nature, 198, 404–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schad, G. A. (1966) Immunity, competition, and natural regulation of helminth populations. Am. Nat., 100, 359–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shostak, A. W. (1986) Sources of variability in life-history characteristics of the annual phase of Triaenophorus crassus (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea). PhD thesis, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 324 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solbrig, O. T. and Solbrig, D. J. (1979) Introduction to Population Biology and Evolution, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Southwood, T. R. E. (1980) Ecological Methods, 2nd edn, Chapman and Hall, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stock, T. M. and Holmes, J. C. (1987a) Dioecocestus asper (Cestoda: Dioecocestidae): an interference competitor in an enteric helminth community. J. Parasitol., 73, 1116–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stock, T. M. and Holmes, J. C. (1987b) Host specificity and exchange of intestinal helminths among four species of grebes (Podicipedidae). Can. J. Zool., 65, 669–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stock, T. M. and Holmes, J. C. (1988) Functional relationships and microhabitat distributions of enteric helminths of grebes (Podicipedidae). J. Parasitol., 74, 214–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toft, C. A. (1986) Communities of species with parasitic life styles. In Community Ecology (eds, T. Case and J. Diamond), Harper and Row, New York, pp. 445–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wisniewski, W. L. (1958) Characterization of the parasitofauna of an eutrophic lake. Acta. Parasitol. Pol., 6, 1–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wootten, R. (1973) The metazoan fauna offish from Hanningfield Reservoir, Essex, in relation to features of the habitat and host populations. J. Zool. (Lond.), 171, 323–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Gerald W. Esch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Allen W. Shostak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David J. Marcogliese
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Timothy M. Goater
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Gerald W. Esch

  2. Department of Zoology, Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

    Albert O. Bush

  3. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA

    John M. Aho

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1990 Chapman and Hall

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Esch, G.W., Shostak, A.W., Marcogliese, D.J., Goater, T.M. (1990). Patterns and processes in helminth parasite communities: an overview. In: Esch, G.W., Bush, A.O., Aho, J.M. (eds) Parasite Communities: Patterns and Processes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0837-6_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0837-6_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6863-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-0837-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation