CAN MODELS OF SOFT-SEDIMENT COMMUNITY STRUCTURE BE COMPLETE WITHOUT PARASITES

Most of the organisms that live in marine, soft-sediment environments are hosts for parasites. Rates of infection by micro- or macroparasites can be quite high, but vary in space and time. Despite the prevalence of parasites, their potential influence on soft-sediment communities is poorly understood. None of the conceptual models of soft-sediment community structure or dynamics published to date considers the impact of parasitism. A variety of potential direct and indirect effects of parasites on host populations and communities are discussed. The greatest challenge for future research in this area is the development of experimental methods for manipulating the abundance of parasites under field conditions.