Ruminating on complexity: macroparasites of wildlife and livestock

Abstract

Recent advances in ecology have improved our understanding of the role of parasites in the dynamics of wildlife populations. However, conditions that prevail in many wildlife systems, such as host movement, contact with livestock, and heterogeneity in the environment of the parasite outside of the host, have largely been ignored in existing models of macroparasite transmission. We need to refine these models if we are to stand a chance of developing effective parasite control strategies. New quantitative approaches enable us to address key complexities and make better use of scarce data, and these should enhance our efforts to understand and control emerging problems of interspecific parasite transmission.