lecture 2 Flashcards
ecology
the study of relationships between organisms and their environments and focuses on regulation and distribution of organisms
about the infection site of parasites:
from the parasites perspective, organisms/hosts are complex environments with many separate habitats/niches available for parasite development and growth
macroparasite:
large parasites that dont multiply in or on a host.
e.g.) adult tapeworms, adult trematodes, most nematodes and arthropods. they can still be found in large numbers in/on the host
microparasites:
small parasites that multiply within a host, e.g., protozoan parasites
to control infections, knowledge of _____ is required
population structure
population structure compromises….
density (mean, abundance), variance (shape of the frequency distribution), and curve of best fit
factors influencing parasite populations:
- abiotic environmental factors
- biotic environmental factors
- parasite characteristics
- host characteristics
definition of multiple species infections
a single host that is infected with multiple pathogens which can interfere with one another in various ways
definition of epidemiology
the study of all ecological aspects of a disease to explain its transmission, distribution, prevalence, and incidence in a population
what is landscape epidemiology?
factors playing a role in transmission which include climate, plant/animal population densities, geological conditions, human activities within area, migration, travel
what is parasite evolution?
evolutionary association between parasite and host
what is evolution of virulence?
parasites either evolving into less or more virulent forms, to achieve balance between optimal virulence that maximizes parasite numbers and does not kill the host
