Parasite vulnerability to climate change: an evidence-based functional trait approach

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:2017
Authors:C. A. Cizauskas, Carlson, C. J., Burgio, K. R., Clements, C. F., Dougherty, E. R., Harris, N. C., Phillips, A. J.
Journal:Royal Society Open Science
Volume:4
Issue:160535
Pagination:12 pp
Date Published:Jan-01-2017
Type of Article:Open Access
ISSN:2054-5703
Keywords:Acizzia veski, biodiversity, Climate change, conservation, disease ecology, Hematopinus oliveri, host–parasite interactions, Parasite extinction
Abstract:

Despite the number of virulent pathogens that are projected to benefit from global change and to spread in the next century, we suggest that a combination of coextinction risk and climate sensitivity could make parasites at least as extinction prone as any other trophic group. However, the existing interdisciplinary toolbox for identifying species threatened by climate change is inadequate or inappropriate when considering parasites as conservation targets. A functional trait approach can be used to connect parasites' ecological role to their risk of disappearance, but this is complicated by the taxonomic and functional diversity of many parasite clades. Here, we propose biological traits that may render parasite species particularly vulnerable to extinction (including high host specificity, complex life cycles and narrow climatic tolerance), and identify critical gaps in our knowledge of parasite biology and ecology. By doing so, we provide criteria to identify vulnerable parasite species and triage parasite conservation efforts.

URL:https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.160535
DOI:10.1098/rsos.160535
Short Title:R. Soc. open sci.
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