title: An integrated parasitology: revealing the elephant through tradition and invention.
abstract: The field of parasitology contributes to the elucidation of patterns and processes in evolution, ecology, and biogeography that are of fundamental importance across the biosphere, leading to a thorough understanding of biodiversity and varied responses to global change. Foundations from taxonomic and systematic information drive biodiversity discovery and foster considerable infrastructure and integration of research programs. Morphological, physiological, behavioral, life-history, and molecular data can be synthesized to discover and describe global parasite diversity, in a timely manner. In fully incorporating parasitology in policies for adaptation to global change, parasites and their hosts should be archived and studied within a newly emergent conceptual universe (the 'Stockholm Paradigm'), embracing the inherent complexity of host-parasite systems and improved explanatory power to understand biodiversity past, present, and future.
authors.affiliation: US National Parasite Collection, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, BARC East No. 1180, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA. Electronic address: eric.hoberg@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Eric P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Hoberg
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Studies and Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.
authors.forename: Salvatore J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Agosta
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ecologia Molecular e Parasitologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 19073, Curitiba, PR 81531-980, Brazil.
authors.forename: Walter A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Boeger
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ecologia Molecular e Parasitologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 19073, Curitiba, PR 81531-980, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Brooks
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002965:Classification; D057231:Climate Change; D006801:Humans; D010274:Parasitology / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*
keywords: archives; biodiversity exploration; climate change; cryptic species; emerging diseases; systematics; taxonomy; ‘Stockholm Paradigm’; ‘parasite paradox ;’ ecological fitting