DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF PARASITES

Parasitism is the most common consumer strategy on the planet, but only recently have parasites been considered in a community context. Like predators, parasites can have consumptive (via infection) and non-consumptive (via fear/disgust) effects on their victims. And, like predators, parasites can cause density-mediated and trait-mediated indirect effects on species with which their victims interact. However, because parasites are not immediately lethal to their victims, they can cause three (as opposed to two) types of indirect effects. 

Recent papers published on this topic:
  • Harjoe CC, Buck JC, Rohr JR, Roberts CE, Olson DH, Blaustein AR. 2022. Pathogenic fungus causes density- and trait-mediated trophic cascades in an aquatic community. Ecosphere ​13: e4043.
  • Koprivnikar J, Weinstein SB, Luong L, Buck JC. 2021. Editorial: Ecology and evolution of non-consumptive effects in host-parasite interactions. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9: 779102.
  • Newsome T, Barton B, Buck JC, DeBruyn J, Spencer E, Ripple WJ, Barton PS. 2021. Monitoring the dead as an ecosystem indicator. Ecology and Evolution 11: 5844-5856.
  • Buck JC, Weinstein SB. 2020. The ecological consequences of a pandemic. Biology Letters 16: 20200641
  • Buck JC, Weinstein SB, Titcomb G, Young HS. 2020. Conservation implications of disease control. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 18: 329-334. pdf
  • Buck JC. 2019. Indirect effects explain the role of parasites in ecosystems. Trends in Parasitology 35: 835-847.
  • Weinstein SB, Buck JC, Young HS. 2018. A landscape of disgust. Science 359: 1213-1214.
  • Buck JC, Ripple WJ. 2017. Infectious agents trigger trophic cascades. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 32: 681-694.