Comparative Parasitology 67(1) 2000 - Peru State College

phy to understand faunal structure is evident
(Hoberg et al., 1999).
Studies of parasite diversity among large ruminants
in the Arctic are consequential, because
environmental perturbations attributable to global
warming may be pronounced in that region.
Synoptic data for parasite distribution in conjunction
with studies of the intricacies of parasite
biology contribute to the development of
model systems to predict the biotic responses to
ameliorating climatic conditions in the Arctic
(Kutz et al., 2000).
The need to understand even relatively simple
Arctic systems has led to development of a partnership
for discovery that seeks to build a synergistic,
complementary, and interdisciplinary
linkage for parasitology, wildlife biology, and
the dynamics of wildlife diseases with systematics
and biogeography. An informal consortium
links the University of Saskatchewan, the Department
of Wildlife, Resources and Economic
Development (Government of the Northwest
Territories), the University of Alaska, and the
Biosystematics and National Parasite Collection
Unit of the Agricultural Research Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, in studies of Arcticparasite
biodiversity. Success of this approach
depends on substantial input and approval from
local communities in the North. The consortium
is a powerful model for involvement and collaboration
among academic scientists, government
agencies, and native Inuit in the Arctic and also
represents a general means of integrating the efforts
of ecologists and systematists to treat a specific
problem.
GTI Component 2: Predictive Classifications—What's
in a Name? A crucial element
in preserving biodiversity within the context of
the CBD is managing information about the 1.7
million species currently known and the millions
yet to be discovered and described. The framework
for such information systems must include
the capability of making predictions about the
characteristics of species based on what we
know about the biology of close relatives. Making
such predictions requires knowledge of phylogenetic
relationships. Phylogenetic classification
systems are the most effective framework
for predictive information systems about organisms
and their place in the biosphere (Erwin,
1991; Brooks and McLennan, 1991, 1993a;
SA2000, 1994; Humphries et al., 1995; Simpson
BROOKS AND HOBKRG—PARASITE BIODIVKRSITY
and Cracraft, 1995; Brooks et al., 2000; Brooks,
Leon-Regagnon, and Perez-Ponce de Leon,
2000). Although systematists have made major
strides in understanding the interrelationships of
life, corroborated phylogenetic hypotheses are
still lacking for many groups. DIVERSITAS and
SA2000 propose to coordinate international research
to achieve a phylogenetic framework for
all life, resolved to the family level, by the year
2010.
The past decade has seen the integration of
phylogenetic information in virtually all areas of
evolutionary research (Brooks and McLennan,
1991; Harvey and Pagel, 1991), including historical
ecology (Brooks, 1985a). Historical ecology
is an interesting and important component
of basic research in evolutionary biology and
may also provide a means for placing a variety
of important biodiversity information in a predictive
framework. As a framework within
which information from systematics and ecology
can be integrated, historical ecology represents
common ground that can serve the professional
agendas of taxonomists and ecologists involved
in biodiversity initiatives, while providing relevant
data to conservation managers. For example,
when plant taxonomists suggested that the
sister species of the American yew tree might
well have a compound similar to taxol, Taxotene
was discovered. The interface of systematics and
biodiversity has also been vital for the successful
development of agriculture in this century
(Miller and Rossman, 1995). The advent of such
predictive applications for integrative data from
systematics clearly drives the development of efficient
and accessible systems for the storage,
maintenance, and retrieval of such information.
PARASITKS—A MAJOR COMPONENT OF BIO-COM-
PLHXITY: Since the advent of modern phylogenetic
studies of parasites (Brooks, 1977), examination
of these complex systems has included
an assessment of the degree of congruence
between host and parasite phylogeny as an indication
of the form and duration of historical
association between the host and parasite group.
Interpretation of the current database (Brooks
and McLennan, 1993a) suggests that about 50%
of the host—parasite associations examined have
resulted from cospeciation (Brooks, 1979), in
which the ancestors of the host and the parasite
were associated and have inherited (metaphorically
speaking) their present ecological associa-
Copyright © 2011, The Helminthological Society of Washington