Abstract
Conservation strategies depend on our understanding of the ecosystem and community dynamics. To date, such understanding has focused mostly on predator–prey and competitor interactions. It is increasingly clear, however, that parasite–host interactions may represent a large, and important, component of natural communities. The need to consider multiple factors and their synergistic interactions if we are to elucidate the contribution of anthropogenic factors to loss in biodiversity is exemplified by research into present-day amphibian declines. Only recently has the role of factors such as trematode parasite infections been incorporated into studies of the population and community dynamics of aquatic systems. We argue that this is due, at least in part, to difficulties faced by aquatic ecologists in sifting through the complex systematics that pervade the parasite literature. We note that two trematode species are of dominant importance with regard to North American larval anuran communities, and provide in this review a clear explanation of how to distinguish between the infective stages of these two parasites. We describe the general biology and life history of these parasites, as well as what is known about their effect on larval anurans, and the interactive effects of environmental stressors (typically anthropogenic in nature) and parasites on larval anurans. We hope that this review will convince the reader of the potential importance of these parasites to aquatic communities in general, and to amphibian communities specifically, and will also provide the information necessary for aquatic ecologists to more frequently consider the role of these parasites in their studies of aquatic ecology.
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Acknowledgments
We thank P. Johnson, J. Koprivnikar, J. Vickruck, L. Pinault and V. Cadena for their valuable input on earlier drafts of this review. We would also like to thank Brandon Ballengée for providing us with an incredible re-drawing of the R. ondatrae life cycle. This research was funded by the Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada (DG# 261587-03 to J.M.L.R.), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Innovation Trust (Project #9369 to J.M.L.R.).
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Communicated by Ross Alford.
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Szuroczki, D., Richardson, J.M.L. The role of trematode parasites in larval anuran communities: an aquatic ecologist’s guide to the major players. Oecologia 161, 371–385 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1388-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1388-8