Responses of metazoan parasite communities to stressor increase and release (A09)

• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426547801

A09 will comparatively analyse the effects of stressor increase and release on parasite communities and subsequent effects on free-living organisms. Parasite communities of invertebrates and fish from non-degraded, degraded and restored sites will be compared in order to analyse if the degree of specialisation and the number of hosts in the parasite life cycle relates to the status of the sites. The effect of stressors on parasitised and unparasitised individuals will be investigated in ExStream experiments. Furthermore, the role of parasites as modulators of dispersal and recolonization of free-living species will be analysed.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1439: Multilevel response to stresser increase and release in stream ecosystems
• Applicant Institution: Universität Duisburg-Essen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Bernd Sures