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Parasitism as a driver of host diversification

Nature Reviews Biodiversity volume 1, pages 401–410 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Parasites are ubiquitous and frequently impose strong deleterious fitness effects on host individuals. These effects often manifest at the microevolutionary scale through host assortative mating and local adaptation. At the macroevolutionary scale, parasite-mediated effects can not only cause population divergence leading to speciation but also cause extirpation of host populations, leading to extinction. The balance between parasite-mediated effects on both speciation and extinction determines species diversification patterns. However, empirical tests of the hypothesis that parasitism contributes to macroevolutionary dynamics of host speciation and extinction are lacking. In this Perspective, we discuss how parasites can affect host macroevolution and outline an approach to determine whether parasitism and diversification are linked. We predict that parasitism, similar to other species interactions, shapes the process of diversification specifically in host species. Testing this hypothesis will require further empirical research to investigate the role of parasitism driving host diversification across the tree of life.

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Fig. 1: Parasite evolutionary strategies.
Fig. 2: Parasite infection strategies.
Fig. 3: Parasite-induced evolutionary effects.
Fig. 4: Framework to explore the link between parasitism and host diversification.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from NSF (DEB 2306183 awarded to A.M.S. and DEB 1916558 awarded to J.M.B.), Arkansas Biosciences Institute (A.M.S.), Academy of Finland (J.S.), University of Turku Graduate School (J.J.I.) and Emil Aaltonen Foundation (J.J.I.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Adam Z. Hasik, Jeremy M. Beaulieu & Adam M. Siepielski

  2. Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Adam Z. Hasik

  3. Nature and Biodiversity Consulting, Sweco Finland Oy, Turku, Finland

    Jaakko J. Ilvonen

  4. Research Group Zoology: Biodiversity and Toxicology, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium

    Tiziana P. Gobbin

  5. Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Jukka Suhonen

  6. Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Robert Poulin

Authors
  1. Adam Z. Hasik
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  2. Jaakko J. Ilvonen
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  3. Tiziana P. Gobbin
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  4. Jukka Suhonen
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  5. Jeremy M. Beaulieu
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  6. Robert Poulin
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  7. Adam M. Siepielski
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All authors contributed substantially to discussion of the content. A.Z.H. wrote the article. All authors reviewed and/or edited the manuscript before submission.

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Correspondence to Adam Z. Hasik.

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Glossary

Abundance

The mean number of parasite individuals per host individual, considering both infected and uninfected hosts.

Coevolutionary arms-race

Evolutionary scenario in which a competing set of co-evolving genotypes or phenotypes develop increasingly escalating adaptations and counter-adaptations.

Diversification

The process by which the diversity of a group of organisms increases over time.

Ecological speciation

The process by which new species form owing to the influence of divergent selection experienced in differing ecological environments.

Extinction

The termination of a taxon when the last member dies.

Extirpation

Complete elimination of a species from a specific area.

Gene-for-gene models

Infection model whereby a parasite has a ‘universal virulence’ allowing it to infect all host genotypes.

Hybrid necrosis

A type of postzygotic incompatibility seen across many species in which hybrid offspring are rarely able to reach their reproductive stage.

Infection profile

Both the number of individual parasites and parasite species infecting a given host.

Intensity

The mean number of parasite individuals per infected host individual.

Local adaptation

Process by which an individual (or group of individuals) performs better in their local habitat than they would in another locality within their species’ geographical range.

Matching allele infection models

Infection model whereby a parasite’s genotype must exactly match a host’s genotype to successfully infect the host.

Parasites

Organisms that have evolved to acquire resources from a host organism at the expense of the host.

Prevalence

The proportion of individuals within a given host population that are infected with a parasite.

Red Queen dynamics

Evolutionary scenario in which species must adapt to and overcome the fitness costs imposed on them by antagonistic species that are also evolving.

Reproductive isolation

Processes preventing members of different populations from successfully mating or producing viable offspring.

Stockholm Paradigm

An evolutionary framework explaining macroevolutionary mechanisms that incorporate evolutionary and ecological processes.

Tolerance

The strategy whereby hosts limit the harm suffered from increasing parasite loads.

Turnover

The process by which a clade changes as lineages appear and disappear over time.

Virulence

The harm to hosts caused by parasite infection.

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Hasik, A.Z., Ilvonen, J.J., Gobbin, T.P. et al. Parasitism as a driver of host diversification. Nat. Rev. Biodivers. 1, 401–410 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-025-00045-w

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