SynthesisProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2022
Sublethal effects of parasitism on ruminants can have cascading consequences for ecosystems.
Synthesis in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Subtle stressors-Strong responses. Consistent negative effects of avian blood parasites on phenotypic and demographic traits across songbirds.The Journal of animal ecology · 2025Pooled it
- Scoop That Poop: Optimising Faecal Sample Pre-Processing for Parasite Metabarcoding.Molecular ecology resources · 2026Article
- Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Blood Parasite Infections and Impacts on Avian Health and Reproduction.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Nemabiome metabarcoding of wild conservation bison herds and co-grazing cattle reveals different species compositions and low-level benzimidazole resistance.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2025Article
- Application of Microbiome Feedback Theory to Animals: Can Parasites Drive Coexistence in Ungulate Communities?Integrative and comparative biology · 2025Article
- Epidemiology and risk factors for endoparasite infection in subtropical feral cattle in Hong Kong.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2025Article
- Parasite-host contact in the Arctic: dispersal behaviour of infective nematode larvae from Svalbard reindeer faeces.Biology letters · 2025Article
- Characterizing the Helminth Community of the Mountain Gazelle (Gazella gazella Pallas, 1766) Through DNA Metabarcoding.Acta parasitologica · 2025Article
- Widespread geographic distribution of filarioid nematodes in caribou (International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2025Article
- Direct and indirect costs of parasitism preceding a population decline of an Arctic ungulate.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Interconnecting global threats: climate change, biodiversity loss, and infectious diseases.The Lancet. Planetary health · 2024Review
- Article
- Pathways linking nutrient enrichment, habitat structure, and parasitism to host-resource interactions.Oecologia · 2024Article
- Herbivores in Arctic ecosystems: Effects of climate change and implications for carbon and nutrient cycling.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 11 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Parasitic infections are common, but how they shape ecosystem-level processes is understudied. Using a mathematical model and meta-analysis, we explored the potential for helminth parasites to trigger trophic cascades through lethal and sublethal effects imposed on herbivorous ruminant hosts after infection. First, using the model, we linked negative effects of parasitic infection on host survival, fecundity, and feeding rate to host and producer biomass. Our model, parameterized with data from a well-documented producer–caribou–helminth system, reveals that even moderate impacts of parasites on host survival, fecundity, or feeding rate can have cascading effects on ruminant host and producer biomass. Second, using meta-analysis, we investigated the links between helminth infections and traits of free-living ruminant hosts in nature. We found that helminth infections tend to exert negative but sublethal effects on ruminant hosts. Specifically, infection significantly reduces host feeding rates, body mass, and body condition but has weak and highly variable effects on survival and fecundity. Together, these findings suggest that while helminth parasites can trigger trophic cascades through multiple mechanisms, overlooked sublethal effects on nonreproductive traits likely dominate their impacts on ecosystems. In particular, by reducing ruminant herbivory, pervasive helminth infections may contribute to a greener world.
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