Human activity and species extinction not only harm the environment, they also endanger human health, a University of Toronto zoologist said.
Daniel Brooks told the 2005 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that ecological damage turns parasites into evolutionary land mines as is seen in the West Nile virus and avian flu.
The biodiversity crisis is not just about extinctions, Brooks said in a statement. In the past, when there have been episodes of major climate change or mass extinction, and species have moved out of their areas of origin into other areas, there have been emerging diseases.
Parasites have moved into new areas and they've jumped ship into new hosts.
Brooks has looked for parasites in more than 4,000 individuals from species ranging from frogs to deer. He has found more than 5,000 different types of parasites and has created a comprehensive inventory of them. Notably, more than two-thirds of these parasites are new to science.
