Conservation, Behavior, Parasites and Invasive Species ☆

Parasites can influence host behavior, and conversely, host behavior can affect encounters with parasites. These long-standing interactions are now further complicated by species movement around the globe. The list of introduced species that have become invasive includes parasites that have adapted to new hosts in areas of introduction, as well as invasive hosts that alter the association between existing parasite–host assemblages. Researchers have documented differences in rates of parasitism and in the consequences of parasite infection between invasive and native hosts, and sometimes these differences are a result of behavioral differences, either pre-existing host behaviors or host behaviors that are altered as a consequence of infection. Parasites have been shown to mediate interactions between native and invasive hosts; occasionally, these parasites determine the outcome of invasions. The effects on native species can be severe, and to that end, conservation biology now takes into account the invasions, parasites, and behavior. The knowledge of the mechanisms driving invasions is incomplete, as is our understanding of parasitism and behavior. It follows that there are many questions remaining about how parasites and the behavior of their hosts influence population dynamics and community structure in the context of species invasions