Parasites Vastly Outweigh Predators In Estuaries: Could Have Significant Ecological Implications
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 21:21
in Biology & Nature
In a study of free-living and parasitic species in three estuaries on the Pacific coast of California and Baja California, researchers have determined that parasite biomass in those habitats exceeds that of top predators, in some cases by a factor of 20. Their findings, which could have significant biomedical and ecological implications, appear in the science journal Nature. From an ecological perspective, parasites serve both as regulators to prevent species from becoming numerically dominant and as indicators of the health of a particular ecosystem. The study shows for the first time that parasites might drive the flow of energy in ecosystems.