The unique voice of parasitologists

Parasitism – The Diversity and Ecology of Animal Parasitesedited by Albert O. Bush, Jacqueline C. Fernandez, Gerald W. Esch and J. Richard Seed, Cambridge University Press, 2001.£75.00 (hbk) or £29.95 (pbk) (566 pages)ISBN 0 521 66447 0Parasitism – The Diversity and Ecology of Animal Parasites is a fine introductory textbook for students of parasitology, particularly undergraduates, graduates who are new to this field and all those fascinated with the natural history of parasites. The book is focused on vertebrates parasites and comprises two parts: (1) the conventional description of the major groups of parasites and (2) a comprehensive review of parasite ecology and evolutionary biology. Each chapter in the first part deals with a major group of parasites: protozoa, flatworms, roundworms, thorny-headed worms, tongue worms, arthropods and other metazoan parasites. Not surprisingly, helminths receive more attention in the second part. The diversity of parasite life cycles is emphasized with relatively few daunting details and terms. The phylogenetic relationships within and between major groups conclude each chapter. The second part of the book is unique and is a rich and up-to-date review of parasite population biology, community ecology, biogeography and evolution, in relation to that of their hosts from an empirical perspective. The authors cover a remarkable spectrum of subjects ranging from the evolution of life history traits through the impact of parasites on host fitness, to speciation processes and the parasites’ role in the maintenance of sexual reproduction in their hosts.The contents of the book are accessible and require little technical background. It is replete with examples of parasites that are seldom mentioned in the standard medical and veterinary parasitology textbooks, and conveys them with refreshing enthusiasm. Explanations are sometimes oversimplified and readers with advanced background in ecology and evolutionary biology might be critical of the authors’ occasionally cursory treatment of certain concepts. The accuracy of parasitological information is not always high (e.g. third-stage larvae of Dirofilaria immitis do not migrate to the salivary glands and, unlike Plasmodium spp. or certain viruses, they are not inoculated into the host; they migrate to the labium in the base of the proboscis and actively break the cuticle of their vector host during probing or blood feeding). The glossary is helpful but needs to be expanded (e.g. paraphyletic). Such issues can be dealt with in later editions. Some recent advances on the biology of medically and veterinary important parasites are not included and aspects of vector biology and vector–parasite interactions are mostly ignored, which is regrettable for a book on the diversity of animal parasites. Nevertheless, ecologists and parasitologists will greatly appreciate the wealth of information summarized in this book.On gloomy days, modern parasitology sometimes appears to be taken over by immunologists, molecular biologists, epidemiologists, clinicians and veterinarians. Few ecologists are ready to cope with the uncontrolled environment of the host and the freakish life history of most parasites. Consequently, ecologists choose more tractable models to address their questions. Nowadays, even parasite systematics is snatched by molecular evolutionists. Thus, parasitologists are being sequestered in a narrow space not covered by all these disciplines and this book is an excellent response to such gloomy view. It is lively and full of provocative material and demonstrates the unique voice and contribution of parasitologists’ studies on the ecology and evolution of parasites.