Introduction: Previous studies have stated that parasites comprise half of all species on Earth but may be greatly underestimated due to the slow rate of their discovery. Conserving parasite biodiversity is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of biodiversity conservation. Parasite biodiversity too deserves attention and conservation like other forms of biological diversity. In this review, diverse aspects concerning parasite biodiversity conservation are addressed and discussed.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review of the existing literature involving findings from scientific papers, reports, and the relevant literature across disciplines such as parasitology, ecology, and conservation biology.
Results:
The first major aspect is the negligence of parasite diversity for conservation in spite of its immense significance in terms of ecosystem health, species interactions, nutrient cycling, and indicators of environmental change.
The second major aspect is various reasons creating obstacles to the conservation of parasite diversity, which include their negative perception, a lack of awareness about their ecological roles, their under-representation in conservation textbooks and courses, methodological challenges in studying and monitoring parasite diversity, limited funding, and the complex interactions of parasites and hosts.
The third major aspect is about strategies and approaches for effective conservation of parasite biodiversity, which requires interdisciplinary approaches involving parasitology, ecology, conservation biology, and public health and collaboration with local communities, stakeholders, and policymakers. Conservational strategies involve habitat preservation, sustainable resource management, management of host populations, minimizing anthropogenic impacts, raising awareness, and targeted research. Some proposed strategies include a global plan for parasite conservation, a hypothetical global parasite project, a decision tree for integrating parasites into conservation planning, etc.
Conclusions: Although parasite biodiversity conservation is challenging, it is essential for ecosystem stability, effective disease management, monitoring of ecosystem disturbances, and knowledge advancement. This review concludes that focusing on these aspects of biodiversity conservation and implementing conservation strategies is crucial for acknowledging parasite diversity and preventing parasite extinction.
