Chelsea Wood, a parasite ecologist, highlights the often misunderstood benefits of parasites in ecosystems, using their complex interactions to argue their importance.
Wood compares parasite roles to historical predator roles in ecosystems, noting significant parallels in their necessity for environmental balance.
Recent studies by Wood's team show a decline in complex parasites due to climate change, raising concerns about the broader ecological impacts.
Key quote:
“In some populations, 100 percent of them are infected, and 50 percent of their biomass is parasite."
Warming temperatures in one part of the world seem to have driven down the parasite population, suggesting another unexpected way that climate change harms ecosystems.
Infections have more than doubled in the U.S. since 2004, afflicting many patients with long-term memory problems, overwhelming fatigue, and even red-meat allergies.
The once-verdant mountain pastures where alpacas graze are drying out from climate change; scientists, herders, and activists are rallying to find solutions.
