Parasites Help Reveal New Ecological Rules

[n2doc]

ScienceDaily (July 21, 2011) — Scientists at UC Santa Barbara and other institutions say their new research is expected to profoundly affect the field of ecology and can assist the management of ecosystems, including forests, lakes, and oceans. And it's all because of parasites.

The research, published this week in the journal Science, includes parasites in a comprehensive study of ecosystems. By doing so, the scientists say they have revealed new ecological rules.

"The major finding of our research is that all types of animals -- parasites or otherwise -- appear to follow exactly the same rule for how common they are," said Ryan Hechinger, lead author and associate research biologist with the Marine Science Institute at UCSB.

"This includes birds, fishes, insects, crabs, clams, and all the parasites that live inside and on them," said Hechinger. "They all seem to follow the same rule. And the rule is simple. You can predict how common an animal is just by knowing how big an individual is and how high in the food chain it is."

more
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110721150456.htm

[damntexdem]

1. Oh, that type of parasite! At first I thought it was that Repukes were actually helping some way.

;-)

[n2doc]

2. You should know better than that n/t

[ashling]

3. A "new" rule, or

a rule newly discovered? As in One which has existed but had not been understood by scientists.