2018/08/24 by Robert Poulin, R. Poulin · 29 citations
Environmental Science · Immunology and Microbiology · Veterinary · #Best practice #Biology #Community #Computer science #Data science #Ecology #Epistemology #Habitat #Helminth infection and control #Law #Parasite Biology and Host Interactions #Parasites and Host Interactions #Political science #Set (abstract data type) #Species richness #Strengths and weaknesses
paper · doi:10.1017/s0022149x18000767
published in Journal of Helminthology 93(1), 8-11 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2018/08/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
In recent decades, parasite community ecology has produced hundreds of studies on an ever-growing number of host species, and developed into an active sub-discipline of parasitology. However, this growth has been characterized by a lack of standards in the practices used by researchers, with many common approaches being flawed, unjustified or misleading. Here, in the hope of promoting advances in the study of parasite community ecology, I identify some of the most common errors or weaknesses in past studies, and propose ten simple rules for best practice in the field. They cover issues including, among others, taxonomic resolution, proper and justifiable analytical methods, higher-level replication, controlling for sampling effort or species richness, accounting for spatial distances, using experimental approaches, and placing raw data in the public domain. While knowledge of parasite communities has expanded in breadth, with more and more host species being studied, true progress has been very limited with respect to our understanding of fundamental general processes shaping these communities. It is hoped that the guidelines presented here can direct researchers away from the entrenched use of certain approaches flawed in design, analysis or interpretation, by offering a more rigorous and standardized set of practices, and, hopefully, a way forward.