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Interrelationships and properties of parasite aggregation measures: a user's guide
A Morrill1, R Poulin2, M R Forbes1
1Biology Department, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
International Journal for Parasitology
|July 19, 2023
Summary
Understanding parasite aggregation is key in ecology. This study clarifies six common measures, grouping them into three distinct categories based on their mathematical properties and responses to parasite removal, aiding researchers in selecting appropriate metrics for epidemiological studies.
Area of Science:
- Parasitology
- Ecology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Macroparasite aggregation among hosts is a universal phenomenon in host-parasite associations.
- Inconsistent use of aggregation measures by researchers may obscure understanding of epidemiological processes.
- Different measures may not capture the same aspects of parasite aggregation.
Conclusions:
- The choice of aggregation metric significantly impacts the interpretation of parasite distribution patterns.
- Researchers should report sufficient information to allow calculation of measures from different groups for robust large-scale analyses.
- Standardizing or clearly reporting aggregation metrics will enhance our understanding of epidemiological processes shaping parasite distributions.
Keywords:
AggregationHoover’s indexMean crowdingNegative binomialParasitesPatchinessPoulin’s DVariance-to-mean ratioMore Related Videos
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