Ecological consequences of manipulative parasites

Abstract

This chapter considers the context in which manipulative parasites could have noticeable ecological effects. By this, we mean that a manipulation of a host that benefits a parasite can also indirectly affect other non-hosts in the system, sometimes in dramatic fashion. Such ecosystem-level changes could occur for manipulative parasites that have a strong effect on their host, a high rate of infection, and infect hosts that play important roles in the ecosystem. With a series of examples from the literature, the chapter describes how manipulative parasites can sometimes have strong indirect ecological effects. Still, little is known about how often these effects occur in nature.