The geography of parasite discovery across taxa and over time

Parasitology
Robert Poulin, Fátima Jorge

Abstract

We need reliable data on the spatial distribution of parasites in order to achieve an inventory of global parasite biodiversity and establish robust conservation initiatives based on regional disease risk. This requires an integrated and spatially consistent effort toward the discovery of new parasite species. Using a large and representative dataset on the geographical coordinates where 4943 helminth species were first discovered, we first test whether the geographical distribution of parasite species reports is spatially congruent across helminth higher taxa; i.e. whether areas, where many trematodes are found, are also areas where many nematodes or cestodes have been discovered. Second, we test whether the global geographical distribution of new helminth species reports has changed significantly over time, i.e. across the last few decades. After accounting for spatial autocorrelation in the data, we find no strong statistical support for either of the patterns we investigated. Overall, our results indicate that helminth species discoveries are both spatially incongruent among higher taxa of helminths, and inconsistent over time. These findings suggest that the global parasite discovery effort is inefficient, spatially biased...Continue Reading

References

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Mar 13, 2014·International Journal for Parasitology·Robert Poulin
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Feb 24, 2016·Systematic Parasitology·Thomas H CribbScott C Cutmore
Jun 1, 2018·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Fátima Jorge, Robert Poulin

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Citations

Nov 19, 2020·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Colin J CarlsonAnna J Phillips
Feb 25, 2019·International Journal for Parasitology·Robert PoulinFátima Jorge

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