Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Ramaley N122, Campus Box 334, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2010 Jun;25(6):362-71. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2010.01.005. Epub 2010 Feb 23.
Recent efforts to include parasites in food webs have drawn attention to a previously ignored facet of foraging ecology: parasites commonly function as prey within ecosystems. Because of the high productivity of parasites, their unique nutritional composition and their pathogenicity in hosts, their consumption affects both food-web topology and disease risk in humans and wildlife. Here, we evaluate the ecological, evolutionary and epidemiological significance of feeding on parasites, including concomitant predation, grooming, predation on free-living stages and intraguild predation. Combining empirical data and theoretical models, we show that consumption of parasites is neither rare nor accidental, and that it can sharply affect parasite transmission and food web properties. Broader consideration of predation on parasites will enhance our understanding of disease control, food web structure and energy transfer, and the evolution of complex life cycles.
最近，人们在将寄生虫纳入食物网的研究中，开始关注到觅食生态学中一个此前被忽视的方面：寄生虫通常在生态系统中充当猎物。由于寄生虫具有较高的生产力、独特的营养组成，以及在宿主中的致病性，它们的消耗会影响人类和野生动物的食物网结构和疾病风险。在这里，我们评估了以寄生虫为食的生态、进化和流行病学意义，包括伴随的捕食、梳理、自由生活阶段的捕食和种内捕食。通过结合实证数据和理论模型，我们表明，寄生虫的消耗既不罕见也非偶然，它会显著影响寄生虫的传播和食物网的性质。更广泛地考虑对寄生虫的捕食，将有助于我们理解疾病控制、食物网结构和能量转移，以及复杂生命周期的进化。
