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New studies show how to save parasites and why it's important:
Unlike the many charismatic mammals, fishes and birds that receive our attention (and our conservation dollars), parasites are thought of as something to eradicate—and certainly not something to protect.
But only 4% of known parasites can infect humans, and the majority actually serve critical ecological roles, like regulating wildlife that might otherwise balloon in population size and become pests. Still, only about 10% of parasites have been identified and, as a result, they are mostly left out of conservation activities and research.
An international group of scientists wants to change that. About a dozen leading parasite ecologists, including University of Washington's Chelsea Wood, published a paper Aug. 1 in the journal Biological Conservation, which lays out an ambitious global conservation plan for parasites.
"Parasites are an incredibly diverse group of species, but as a society, we do not recognize this biological diversity as valuable," said Wood, an assistant professor in the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. "The point of this paper is to emphasize that we are losing parasites and the functions they serve without even recognizing it."
The authors propose 12 goals for the next decade that could advance parasite biodiversity conservation through a mix of research, advocacy and management.
"Even though we know little to nothing about most parasite species, we can still take action now to conserve parasite biodiversity," said Skylar Hopkins, paper and project co-lead and an assistant professor at North Carolina State University.
[...] Traditionally, the field of disease ecology assumes one of two paths: That we are either heading toward a future of more disease and massive outbreaks or toward a future of parasite extinction. This paper shows that both trajectories are happening simultaneously, Wood explained.
Journal Reference:
Chelsea L. Wood et al. How host diversity and abundance affect parasite infections: Results from a whole-ecosystem manipulation of bird activity, Biological Conservation (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108683
(Score: 3, Touché) by Grishnakh on Monday August 03 2020, @04:04PM (14 children)
>Well in a corrupt society, parasites could help relieve the mafiosos of their money. I think you are trolling as i do not think you can compare a human society to a natural world eco system.
Well, my comparison made we wonder if we really can compare them. Perhaps they're more alike than you realize. After all, ages ago, if you asked any educated person if they thought that parasites were important in the ecosystem, they'd probably say "no", and now scientists are saying that they (at least some of them) do seem to have some important role. Perhaps the same is true in human societies? After all, in many societies, black markets arose because the political leadership refused to address a serious need or desire of many of the people.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @04:27PM (12 children)
I think you're getting confused. A black market is a capitalist thing. Amoral supply and demand - pay money, get stuff.
Actual society level parasites are corruption and/or the inherited wealth douchbags skim a living without doing any labor. These days it is a moral high ground to never lift a finger- you're "very smart" if you game others into carrying your costs.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 03 2020, @06:21PM (11 children)
Odd. In a free market capitalistic society, what need is there of a free market? (NOTE: I recognize that the US does NOT have a free market.)
Black markets seem to thrive in communist countries, and in countries that attempt to prohibit certain items. Neither of which is a healthy market. The more regulation, the blacker the market gets, I think.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @08:49PM (6 children)
"The more regulation, the blacker the market gets, I think."
Think harder. Alcohol is very highly regulated yet I have never once encountered black market alcohol. Perhaps you are mixing up regulation and criminalization.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 03 2020, @09:14PM (5 children)
If you've never encountered black market alcohol, you should take up residence in a "dry county" in the US South. Which reminds me of an anecdote:
De Queen Arkansas has a pretty high Mexican/Latino population. De Queen is in Sevier County, a "dry county". People routinely drive over the Oklahoma state line, where you will find three stores selling alcohol, in the first two or three miles. The owner of one of those beer joints was happy to sell beer, or whatever else, to anyone with green. But, if a Mexican with Arkansas plates bought more than the "legal" supply of alcohol, he would be on the phone informing De Queen police of the make/model/year vehicle, and quantity of alcohol. There was never a phone call regarding a white, or a black person purchasing "too much" alcohol.
But, yeah, black market alcohol is a thing here in the south.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday August 03 2020, @10:36PM (4 children)
I'm sure it is. Those southerners do like to regulate people's behaviour don't they?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 03 2020, @10:59PM (3 children)
Mostly the Baptists, and a few other churches thrown in. They have to save people from themselves.
In recent years, more and more counties are voting to go "wet". Each county was "authorized" some number of liquor licenses, and they were auctioned off to high bidders. The various churches would bid, and if they won a license, they would put that license somewhere that the sun never shines, and the county would get no beer after all.
The dummies in Little Rock finally understood what was happening, and decreed that if you didn't USE the license (as intended) within some limited time, it would be revoked, and auctioned off again. I guess the churches can still tie up a license for as much as a year, but they can't get them all, and they can't keep them long.
Little River county, where I live, has been wet since the 2016 referendum. It's nice - I seldom want a beer, but when I do, it's only a five mile drive to the nearest EZ-Mart, instead of 25 miles into Texas, or going to Oklahoma, where they have near-beer.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday August 03 2020, @11:35PM (2 children)
Thanks, very interesting.
Strange how those Christians are happy to corrupt the will of the voters for their own ends.
I am going to assume Little River County is where the band come from.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday August 04 2020, @12:28AM (1 child)
Little River band? https://reallittleriverband.com/ [reallittleriverband.com] They aren't even Murican! Buncha furriners from Oz, I think. ;^)
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday August 04 2020, @01:01AM
I know, but it was a good story
(Score: 4, Touché) by Opportunist on Tuesday August 04 2020, @01:07AM (2 children)
Black markets exist wherever something that is in demand is outlawed or regulated. Independent of government systems or economic systems. There is a black market for drugs, there's a black market for human workforce.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @04:02PM (1 child)
This sounds clever... but if you think about it, it's wrong.
Pretty much every market is regulated to some degree. For example, you can't sell "milk" and have it be industrial waste.
It's not just a market being regulated. It's not even a market being outlawed. (There is no market for Smallpox... yes, some people would love to buy it, but they can't, so no "market" exists.)
I think there is something more sophisticated to determining if a black market exists. (It probably involves a disconnect between the law and individual people's morality, plus the ease of creation or transportation.) All I know is that it's more complicated than regulation/outlaw = black market.
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Tuesday August 04 2020, @11:34PM
There's no market for Smallpox because the potential buyers are few and far between, as are the potential sellers. But you can of course declare your industrial waste as milk and sell it. People will die from it and you will be charged with manslaughter or murder. That's not the main reason why there is no black market for that, though, the main reason for this is that there is pretty much zero demand for industrial waste declared to be milk, hence nobody who'd want to pay money for that.
Morality only matters in terms of price. Items that are highly immoral may fetch a higher price. That's pretty much all morals do here, because they limit the amount of people who would be willing to buy sell a particular good. The price may also be higher because the social stigma of trading in that good may be further limiting the amount of people willing to trade in the product.
Aside of that, a black market follows the same rules as any other market: Supply and demand.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday August 04 2020, @04:38AM
Many things are more noticeable by their restriction or absence. Just because you don't see the need of a free market in a society that has them, doesn't mean the need doesn't exist. After all, you still need air the same whether or not someone is trying to strangle you.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday August 03 2020, @05:08PM
https://youtu.be/4GaMo9vzz78 [youtu.be]
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