Synopses & Reviews
Parasites are a masterful work of evolutionary art. The tiny mite
Histiostoma laboratorium, a parasite of
Drosophila, launches itself, in an incredible display of evolutionary engineering, like a surface-to-air missile at a fruit fly far above its head. Gravid mussels such as
Lampsilis ventricosa undulate excitedly as they release their parasitic larval offspring, conning greedy predators in search of a tasty meal into hosting the parasite.
The Art of Being a Parasite is an extensive collection of these and other wonderful and weird stories that illuminate the ecology and evolution of interactions between species. Claude Combes illustrates what it means to be a parasite by considering every stage of its interactions, from invading to reproducing and leaving the host. An accessible and engaging follow-up to Combes's Parasitism, this book will be of interest to both scholars and nonspecialists in the fields of biodiversity, natural history, ecology, public health, and evolution.
About the Author
Claude Combes is professor of animal biology at the University of Perpignan and author of
Parasitism: The Ecology and Evolution of Intimate Interactions, published by the University of Chicago Press.
Daniel Simberloff is the Nancy Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Table of Contents
Introduction: What Is a Symbiosis?
1. Arms Races
2. How Does One Become a Parasite?
3. The Profession of Parasite
4. The Profession of Host
5. The Profession of Mutualist
6. Alice and the Red Queen
7. Sexual Selection and Parasitism
8. Parasites in Space and Time
9. Emerging Diseases and the Future Arms Race
Notes
Glossary
References
Index