title: Ecological functions of zoosporic hyperparasites.
abstract: Zoosporic parasites have received increased attention during the last years, but it is still largely unnoted that these parasites can themselves be infected by hyperparasites. Some members of the Chytridiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Cryptomycota, Hyphochytriomycota, Labyrinthulomycota, Oomycota, and Phytomyxea are hyperparasites of zoosporic hosts. Because of sometimes complex tripartite interactions between hyperparasite, their parasite-host, and the primary host, hyperparasites can be difficult to detect and monitor. Some of these hyperparasites use similar mechanisms as their parasite-hosts to find and infect their target and to access food resources. The life cycle of zoosporic hyperparasites is usually shorter than the life cycle of their hosts, so hyperparasites may accelerate the turnaround times of nutrients within the ecosystem. Hyperparasites may increase the complexity of food webs and play significant roles in regulating population sizes and population dynamics of their hosts. We suggest that hyperparasites lengthen food chains but can also play a role in conducting or suppressing diseases of animals, plants, or algae. Hyperparasites can significantly impact ecosystems in various ways, therefore it is important to increase our understanding about these cryptic and diverse organisms.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Frank H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Gleason
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Osu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lilje
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Pesquisa em Micologia, Instituto de Botânica São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Agostina V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Marano
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome and Environnement, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand II Aubière, France.
authors.forename: Télesphore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sime-Ngando
authors.affiliation: Back To Nature Design Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Brooke K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Leopold Franzens University Innsbruck Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kirchmair
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Leopold Franzens University Innsbruck Innsbruck, Austria ; Microbial Diversity and Genomics, Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum London, UK.
authors.forename: Sigrid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Neuhauser
keywords: eDNA; ecology; food web; hyperparasites; parasite; zoospores