Nature Can’t Run Without Parasites, But Climate Change is Driving Some to Extinction

2 comments

1. For centuries, people have thought of parasites as nature’s villains. They often [infect people](https://www.wired.com/story/brain-parasite-worm-mercury-fish-robert-kennedy-rfk/) and livestock. In fact, parasites are by definition bad for their hosts, but today, more scientists are starting to think about parasites as forces for good.

   As scientists have learned more about parasites, some have argued that many ecosystems might actually need them in order to thrive. “Parasites are a bellwether,” she said. “So if the parasites are there, you know that the rest of the hosts are there as well. And in that way they signal about the health of the ecosystem.”

   To understand this counterintuitive idea, it’s helpful to look at another class of animals that people used to hate: predators.

   Read the full story here: [https://www.wired.com/story/parasites-worms-climate-change-rfk/](https://www.wired.com/story/parasites-worms-climate-change-rfk/)

2. It really hit home for me when doing research, and I had to put some trays in a freezer overnight to kill any parasites (because our taxa are cold adapted due to previous ice ages) or I could put them in an incubator set at 50C for half hour (much quicker to kill the bugs this way).