Journal Article

The ghost of hosts past

Huang, Shan, Davies, T. Jonathan, Stephens, Patrick, Dallas, Tad, Farrell, Maxwell J., Park, Andrew W., Morales-Castilla, Ignacio, Mideo, Nicole, Cressler, Clayton E.

2021

Overview

A growing body of research is focused on the extinction of parasite species in response to host endangerment and declines. Beyond the loss of parasite species richness, host extinction can impact apparent parasite host specificity, as measured by host richness or the phylogenetic distances among hosts. Such impacts on the distribution of parasites across the host phylogeny can have knock-on effects that may reshape the adaptation of both hosts and parasites, ultimately shifting the evolutionary landscape underlying the potential for emergence and the evolution of virulence across hosts. Here, we examine how the reshaping of host phylogenies through extinction may impact the host specificity of parasites, and offer examples fromhistorical extinctions, present-day endangerment, and future projections of biodiversity loss. We suggest that an improved understanding of the impact of host extinction on contemporary host–parasite interactionsmay shed light on core aspects of disease ecology, including comparative studies of host specificity, virulence evolution in multihost parasite systems, and future trajectories for host and parasite biodiversity. This article is part of the theme issue 'Infectious disease macroecology: parasite diversity and dynamics across the globe'.

• Publisher: Royal Society,The Royal Society
• Subject: Part II: Changing Host Parasite Associations / Review