Parasitic castration: the evolution and ecology of body snatchers

• Published in: Trends in parasitology Vol. 25; no. 12; pp. 564 - 572
• Main Authors: Lafferty, Kevin D., Kuris, Armand M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alveolata - physiology; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Evolution; Ecosystem; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Host-Parasite Interactions - physiology; Infectious Disease; Invertebrates - parasitology; Invertebrates - physiology; Isopoda; Marine; Phenotype; Population Density; Reproduction - physiology; Parasite; Parasitic castration

Castration is a response to the tradeoff between consumption and longevity faced by parasites. Common parasitic castrators include larval trematodes in snails, and isopod and barnacle parasites of crustaceans. The infected host (with its many unique properties) is the extended phenotype of the paras...