17 сент. 2014 г. · Many parasitic infections, including those of humans, are caused by complex lifecycle parasites (CLPs): parasites that sequentially infect .
Why do parasites have complex life cycles?
Since fewer parasite stages are lost to mortality and more make it to the definitive host via trophic transmission, overall transmission rates increase. Both downward incorporation and upward incorporation are thought to have led to the evolution of complex life cycles for some parasite species.
Do parasites have complex life cycles?
Complex life cycles involve shifts between hosts, but can also involve a succession of physiologically or morphologically different stages within a single host (e.g. using different tissues). There is a close parallel between complex life cycles in parasites and metamorphosis, e.g. in amphibians or lepidoptera.
Why is the lifecycle of the helminths considered complex?
Parasitic worms (helminths) frequently have complex life cycles in which they are transmitted trophically between two or more successive hosts. Sexual reproduction often takes place in high trophic-level (TL) vertebrates, where parasites can grow to large sizes with high fecundity.
What are the advantages for parasitic worms of having complex life cycles?
From a life-history perspective, a major advantage of being transmitted to larger hosts is that parasites may be able to grow faster to a larger size with lower mortality than they could in smaller, lower-trophic-level hosts (Par- ker et al.
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