Includes bibliographical references (p. 435-498) and indexes.

Parasites and humans: Mission impossible ; Some lessons provided by yellow fever ; Parasites in our times ; Summary -- The study of evolutionary parasitology: The evolutionary process ; Questions about host-parasite interactions ; Selection and units that evolve ; Life history ; Studying adaptations : optimality and evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) ; Comparative studies ; Summary -- The diversity and natural history of parasites: The ubiquity of parasites ; A systematic overview of parasites ; The evolution of parasitism ; The diversity and evolution of parasite life-cycles ; Summary -- The natural history of defences: The defence sequence ; Defence by the immune system ; Basic elements of the immune defence ; Immune defence protein families ; The generation of diversity in recognition ; The diversity of immune defences ; Evolution of the immune system ; Summary -- Ecolocal immunology: Variation in parasitism ; Ecological immunology : the costs of defence ; The nature of defence costs ; 'Immunocompetence' and the benefits of defence ; Strategies of immune defence ; Tolerance as defence element ; Summary -- Parasites, immunity, and sexual selection: Differences between the sexes ; Parasites and sexual selection ; Sexual selection and immunity in invertebrates ; Summary -- Specificity: Measuring specificity and host range ; Host-specificity of parasites ; Evolution of the host range ; Specific defences of the host ; Memory, immune priming, and trans-generational transfer ; Adaptive diversity and cross-reactivity ; Summary -- Parasite immune evasion and manipulation of host phenotype: Parasites manipulate their hosts ; The diversity of immune-evasion mechanisms ; Manipulation of the host phenotype to increase transmission ; Manipulation of the host phenotype to increase infection lifetime ; Mechanisms of host phenotype manipulation ; Strategies of manipulation ; Ecological significance of manipulation ; Summary -- Infection and pathogenesis: Infection and dose ; Similar parasites cause different pathologies ; Pathogenesis : the mechanisms of virulence ; Immunopathology ; The genetics of pathogenesis ; Summary -- Host-parasite genetics: The genetic architecture of host resistance ; Evolutionary genetics of host-parasite interactions ; Signatures of selection ; Genetic structure of protozoan parasites ; Summary -- Epidemiology: Population biology of host-parasitoid systems ; Epidemiology of infectious diseases : microparasites ; Endemic infections and periodic outbreaks ; Epidemiology of vectored microparasites ; Epidemiology of macroparasites ; Immuno-epidemiology ; Epidemiology with evolutionary change ; Within-host epidemiology ; Summary -- Virulence: Virulence ; The evolution of virulence ; Concepts of virulence evolution ; Within-host evolution ; Life history of infection events ; Within- vs. between-host selection ; Host population structure ; Non-equilibrium virulence ; Summary -- Host-parasite (co-)evolution: Macro-evolution ; Micro-evolution ; Micro-evolution : the maintenance of diversity ; Antagonistic co-evolution, sex, and recombination ; The evolution of sex and recombination under parasitism ; Selective sweeps ; Summary -- Ecology: Parasites and host life-history ; Host populations ; Host ecological communities ; Parasite ecology ; Invasions ; Summary. "Parasites are everywhere, affecting almost every aspect imaginable in the life of their hosts including physiology, behaviour, life histories and, by implication, the structure of entire ecosystems. To cope with these constant threats, host immune defences have evolved to become one of the most sophisticated natural systems known. Despite this, parasites have found their own ways to overcome defences and exploit their hosts. Consequently, hosts and parasites have been constantly forced to adapt to one another; sometimes changes have occurred very rapidly, whilst others have taken eons. This evolutionary arms race has had far-reaching consequences for the biology of both parties. Over the last decade, principles from evolution and ecology have increasingly been applied to the fields of parasitology and immunology in an attempt to foster a common conceptual framework that uses a priori principles to unravel the diversity of host-parasite phenomena. This has led to the emergence of some of the most important, highly successful and inter-disciplinary areas of modern biology - the as yet separated fields of ecological immunology and evolutionary studies of parasitism. This novel book provides the first comprehensive overview of the many facets of host-parasite interactions, from the molecular bases to adaptive strategies and their ecological and evolutionary consequences. It is informed by the very latest progress in the field. No longer do we view well-adapted parasites as becoming ultimately harmless. To the contrary, parasite virulence is determined both by the processes that lead to harm and by the evolutionary costs and benefits of this damage. Similarly, parasitism is no longer regarded as being inevitably deleterious; rather it can be a major factor maintaining diversity in populations and communities, selecting for beautiful plumages of birds, or even making us more social. Evolutionary Parasitology integrates material from a wide range of topics including immunology, genetics, sexual selection, population ecology, behavioural ecology, and evolutionary biology. Graduate students and researchers from different fields and with different backgrounds will find this book a valuable reference to meet their interests and to expand their insights into neighbouring disciplines."--pub. desc.