CHELOMINA G.N.
Biota and environment of natural areas 2026; 14(1): 56-74
Parasitism, which emerged at the earliest stages of life on Earth and is of great importance for human health and ecosystems, requires special attention during periods of planetary polycrisis. This review briefly discusses how the current drastic environmental changes caused by global warming, unprecedented intensification of anthropogenic impact, and mass extinction of species a ect parasites and their consequences. Modern classifications of parasite host specificity and methods for its determination are described, as well as factors influencing parasite abundance, extinction, and virulence. Such current topics as the “trade-o ” and “ecological niche” theories, the “co-extinction” hypotheses of host and parasites, and the “dilution e ect” are discussed. The application of evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) and the mean pairwise phylogenetic distance (MPD) between host species to assess the impact of past and future (within predictive models) extinctions on current contemporary parasite host specificity is considered. Examples of ecological modeling of realized parasite specificity and the prediction of parasitic infections in humans, domestic animals, and wild animals are presented. The relationship between parasite community dynamics and epidemiological indicators is demonstrated, as well as prospects for the development of diagnostic parasitology.
