Introductory Parasitology, Biol 328

•  Martin Adamson •  Rm 3509A BIOSC •  E-mail: adamson@zoology.ubc.ca •  Web:

www.zoology.ubc.ca/~Adamson/b328 •  Lecture: M, W 8:00 to 9:00 Biol 2200 •  Labs: M, T 2:00 to 5:00 Biol 3509

Parasite

An organism that lives on, or in another living organism

Where are the parasites?

Where are the parasites?

Some related terms.

1.  Parasite 2.  Symbiont 3.  Mutualist

4.  Commensal 5.  Parasitoid 6.  Inquiline

7.  Phoront 8.  Microherbivore/micropredator

An organism that lives on or in another living organism

An organism that uses another organism for dispersal

An organism that lives in the nest of another organism

An organism that lives at the expense of another organism without harming it.

An organism that lives at the expense of another organism providing a benefit to that organism.

An organism that lives in another organism but kills that organism to complete its development.

Some qualifiers of Parasitism

• Ectoparasite/Endoparasite • Obligate versus Facultative

• Accidental or incidental

Hosts

• Definitive host versus intermediate host • Paratenic host (transport host)

• Reservoir host

Parasite

• From Greek para (beside) and sitos (grain, food); “one who eats at another’s table”.

• First biological use in late 1800s to apply to plants like mistletoe

Parasites not specifically covered in Biol 328

• Viruses -- see Micb 306 • Bacteria -- see Micb 202, 403, 404

• Fungus -- see Biol 323 • Plants -- various plant courses

Questions to ask about any parasite.

• What are its hosts? Is it host specific or is it a generalist?

• Where does it live? Geographic distribution. Microhabitat.

• How is it transmitted? Intermediate hosts? Paratenics?