Parasitology, Harold W. Manter Laboratory of
Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
2007
Abstract
Parasites are integral components of the biosphere. Host switching correlated with events of episodic climate change is ubiquitous in evolutionary and ecological time. Global climate change produces ecological perturbations, which cause geographical and phenological shifts, and alteration in the dynamics of parasite transmission, increasing the potential for host switching. The intersection of climate change with evolutionary conservative aspects of host specificity and transmission dynamics, called ecological fitting, permits emergence of parasites and diseases without evolutionary changes in their capacity for host utilization.
Comments
Published in Trends in Parasitology (2007) 23(12): 571-574.