Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN) Unidad Mérida, Mérida, Yucatán, México.
Trends Parasitol. 2010 Jan;26(1):44-51. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2009.11.001. Epub 2009 Nov 26.
This review assesses the usefulness of parasites as bioindicators of environmental impact. Relevant studies published in the past decade were compiled; factorial meta-analysis demonstrated significant effects and interactions between parasite levels and the presence and concentration of various pollutants and/or environmental stressors. These effects and interactions were also evident in subsets of studies that used different methods such as field surveys or experimental exposure. From this meta-analysis we conclude that parasites are useful bioindicators of environmental impact. Further, by examining aspects of study design, we put forward recommendations for the design of future studies to evaluate anthropogenic impact on host-parasite interactions and increase the efficiency of environmental monitoring programs.
本综述评估了寄生虫作为环境影响生物指示剂的有用性。编译了过去十年发表的相关研究；因子荟萃分析表明，寄生虫水平与各种污染物和/或环境胁迫物的存在和浓度之间存在显著影响和相互作用。这些影响和相互作用在使用不同方法（如实地调查或实验暴露）的研究子集中也很明显。从这项荟萃分析中，我们得出结论，寄生虫是环境影响的有用生物指示剂。此外，通过检查研究设计的各个方面，我们为未来的研究提出了建议，以评估人为因素对宿主-寄生虫相互作用的影响，并提高环境监测计划的效率。
