Invaders and co-invaders: the importance of biological invasions in parasitology

The worldwide movement of animals and humans linked to the increasing globalization has led to reconsider the concept of geographic distance not only for travellers but also for pathogens. From the voluntary, transcontinental pet trade to the unvoluntary transport of aquatic organisms with ballast waters, pathogen spread throughout the globe in the wake of their natural hosts represent a silent threat. Therefore, the impact of newly introduced species on native fauna should not be measured only in terms of direct competition but also of the alteration of transmissible disease dynamics. Spill-over of co-introduced parasites to the autochthonous species can result into highly virulent infection due to the absence of co-evolution, while on the other side invasive species may act as vectors or reservoirs of local parasites amplifying the abundance of infective forms (spill-back). This phenomenon appears more than ever significant when dealing with pathogen of zoonotic interest, highlighting the high costs of biological invasions.



This research topic is aimed at exploring parasites role in the frame of biological invasions, reporting the still unexplored diversity of newly co-introduced parasite species and their potential or actual effect on native fauna. Pathogens with zoonotic potential are particularly of interest.



The research topic welcomes submissions on this topic, including (but not limited to) studies on:

- Diversity of parasitic fauna in alien species in terrestrial and aquatic environments

- Risk analysis applied to introduction of Alien Invasive Species and set up of an early warning system to detect newly introducted alien species

- Host-switch events

- Virulence in the newly aquired host







This Research Topic accepts the following article types:



- Brief Research Report

- Case Report

- Clinical Trial

- Methods

- Mini Review

- Original Research

- Review

- Systematic Review

Keywords: alien species, invasions, spillover, disease dynamics, parasites

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.