title: Response to Strona & Fattorini: are generalist parasites being lost from their hosts?
abstract: We respond to criticism of our recent paper by examining assumptions about the structure of host-parasite networks, and discuss the implications of host extinction on our perception of parasite specificity.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada.
authors.forename: Maxwell J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Farrell
authors.affiliation: Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Stephens
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada.|African Centre for DNA Barcoding, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: T Jonathan
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Davies
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D010271:Parasites
keywords: asymmetry of interactions; coextinction; conservation; host range; host specificity; infectious disease; macroecology; parasite richness