title: Sticklebacks as model hosts in ecological and evolutionary parasitology.
abstract: The three-spined stickleback is a small teleost fish, native to coastal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, which has emerged as a key model organism in evolutionary biology and ecology. Sticklebacks possess a well-documented and experimentally amenable parasite fauna, and are well suited to both laboratory and field parasitological investigation. As a consequence, sticklebacks have been extensively used as model hosts in studies of host-parasite interactions, and these studies have provided considerable insight into the roles of parasites in ecology and evolutionary biology. In this review, I discuss key advances in our understanding of host-parasite interactions that have arisen from studies involving stickleback hosts, highlight areas of current research activity, and identify potentially promising areas for future research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Adrian Building, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK. Electronic address: ib50@le.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Iain
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Barber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004463:Ecology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D023421:Models, Animal; D010274:Parasitology / Q000639:trends*; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000469:parasitology*
keywords: Gasterosteus aculeatus; Schistocephalus solidus; disease; evolutionary ecology; host–parasite interactions; parasitism