Kevin Lafferty
Dr. Keving Lafferty is a Senior Ecologist with the Western Ecological Research Center.
His main interest lies in how parasites affect ecosystems and, in turn, how ecosystems affect parasites. He is also involved in research on the conservation of marine resources, investigating strategies for protecting endangered shorebirds, fish and abalone. He has also assessed the effects of marine reserves.
Dr. Lafferty received his Ph. D. in Ecological Parasitology in 1991 at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and took a post doc with the National Marine Sanctuary and a research position at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is presently a Marine Ecologist for the USGS at the Channel Islands Field Station. As a UCSB adjunct faculty member, the university's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology generously provides for Dr. Lafferty's office and laboratory space in the Marine Lab. He advises graduate students in Marine Ecology, but has no formal teaching assignments.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Conservation biology
- Invasive species ecology
- Nearshore marine ecology
- Parasite ecology
- Wetland ecology
Professional Experience
Marine Ecologist, USGS, Western Ecological Science Center, Jul 1998-Present
Assistant Adj. Prof., UCSB, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, Jul 1998-Present
Assist. Research Biologist, UCSB Marine Science Institute, Jun 1996-Jul 1998
Assist. Research Biologist, UCLA, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Jun 1994-Jul 1998
Assist. Research Biologist, UCSB, Marine Science Institute, Jan 1993-May 1994
Post Doctoral Researcher, National Marine Sanctuaries Program, Jan 1992-Dec 1992
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1991
M.A., Zoology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1988
B.A., Aquatic Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1985
Affiliations and Memberships*
Amercian Society of Parasitologists
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
California Botanical Society
Ecological Society of America
Ecological Society of America
Natural Areas Association
Western Society of Naturalists
Science and Products
Incidence of adult brain cancers is higher in countries where the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is common
Stage structure alters how complexity affects stability of ecological networks
A nematomorph parasite explains variation in terrestrial subsidies to trout streams in Japan
Parasite transmission in social interacting hosts: Monogenean epidemics in guppies
Food webs and fishing affect parasitism of the sea urchin Eucidaris galapagensis in the Galápagos
Parasite distribution, prevalence, and assemblages of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, in Southwestern Alabama, U.S.A.
Nematomorph parasites drive energy flow through a riparian ecosystem
A common scaling rule for abundance, energetics, and production of parasitic and free-living species
Trematode communities in snails can indicate impact and recovery from hurricanes in a tropical coastal lagoon
Effects of disease on community interactions and food web structure
Invasion biology and parasitic infections
When parasites become prey: ecological and epidemiological significance of eating parasites
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 230
Incidence of adult brain cancers is higher in countries where the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is common
We explored associations between the common protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii and brain cancers in human populations. We predicted that T. gondii could increase the risk of brain cancer because it is a long-lived parasite that encysts in the brain, where it provokes inflammation and inhibits apoptosis. We used a medical geography approach based on the national incidence of brain cancers and serAuthorsFrédéric Thomas, Kevin D. Lafferty, Jacques Brodeur, Eric Elguero, Michel Gauthier-Clerc, Dorothée MisséStage structure alters how complexity affects stability of ecological networks
Resolving how complexity affects stability of natural communities is of key importance for predicting the consequences of biodiversity loss. Central to previous stability analysis has been the assumption that the resources of a consumer are substitutable. However, during their development, most species change diets; for instance, adults often use different resources than larvae or juveniles. Here,AuthorsV. H. W. Rudolf, Kevin D. LaffertyA nematomorph parasite explains variation in terrestrial subsidies to trout streams in Japan
Nematomorph parasites alter the behavior of their orthopteran hosts, driving them to water and creating a source of food for stream salmonids. We investigated whether nematomorphs could explain variation in terrestrial subsidies across several streams. In nine study streams, orthopterans comprise much of the stomach contents of trout (46 ± 31% on average). Total mass of ingested prey per trout bioAuthorsTakuya Sato, Katsutoshi Watanabe, Naoko Tokuchi, Hiromitsu Kamauchi, Yasushi Harada, Kevin D. LaffertyParasite transmission in social interacting hosts: Monogenean epidemics in guppies
BackgroundInfection incidence increases with the average number of contacts between susceptible and infected individuals. Contact rates are normally assumed to increase linearly with host density. However, social species seek out each other at low density and saturate their contact rates at high densities. Although predicting epidemic behaviour requires knowing how contact rates scale with host deAuthorsMirelle B. Johnson, Kevin D. Lafferty, Cock van Oosterhout, Joanne CableFood webs and fishing affect parasitism of the sea urchin Eucidaris galapagensis in the Galápagos
In the Galápagos Islands, two eulimid snails parasitize the common pencil sea urchin, Eucidaris galapagensis. Past work in the Galápagos suggests that fishing reduces lobster and fish densities and, due to this relaxation of predation pressure, indirectly increases urchin densities, creating the potential for complex indirect interactions between fishing and parasitic snails. To measure indirect eAuthorsJorge I. Sonnenholzner, Kevin D. Lafferty, Lydia B. LadahParasite distribution, prevalence, and assemblages of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, in Southwestern Alabama, U.S.A.
The grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, harbors a number of symbionts within its North American range. Here, we document the distribution and seasonality of 4 taxonomic groups that use P. pugio as a host in coastal Alabama. We conducted a regional survey of 4 symbionts of P. pugio over 3 seasons and compared assemblages across space and time. The most common parasite was the metacercarial stage of tAuthorsKate L. Sheehan, Kevin D. Lafferty, Jack O'Brien, Just CebrianNematomorph parasites drive energy flow through a riparian ecosystem
Parasites are ubiquitous in natural systems and ecosystem‐level effects should be proportional to the amount of biomass or energy flow altered by the parasites. Here we quantified the extent to which a manipulative parasite altered the flow of energy through a forest‐stream ecosystem. In a Japanese headwater stream, camel crickets and grasshoppers (Orthoptera) were 20 times more likely to enter aAuthorsTakuya Sato, Katsutoshi Watanabe, Minoru Kanaiwa, Yasuaki Niizuma, Yasushi Harada, Kevin D. LaffertyA common scaling rule for abundance, energetics, and production of parasitic and free-living species
The metabolic theory of ecology uses the scaling of metabolism with body size and temperature to explain the causes and consequences of species abundance. However, the theory and its empirical tests have never simultaneously examined parasites alongside free-living species. This is unfortunate because parasites represent at least half of species diversity. We show that metabolic scaling theory couAuthorsRyan F. Hechinger, Kevin D. Lafferty, Andy P. Dobson, James H. Brown, Armand M. KurisTrematode communities in snails can indicate impact and recovery from hurricanes in a tropical coastal lagoon
In September 2002, Hurricane Isidore devastated the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. To understand its effects on the parasites of aquatic organisms, we analyzed long-term monthly population data of the horn snail Cerithidea pliculosa and its trematode communities in Celestún, Yucatán, Mexico before and after the hurricane (February 2001 to December 2009). Five trematode species occurred in the snail poAuthorsMaria Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo, Victor M. Vidal-Martinez, Kevin D. LaffertyEffects of disease on community interactions and food web structure
No abstract available.AuthorsKevin D. LaffertyInvasion biology and parasitic infections
No abstract available.AuthorsSarah Perkins, Sonia Altizer, Ottar Bjornstad, Jeremy J. Burdon, Keith Clay, Lorena Gómez-Aparicio, Jonathan M. Jeschke, Pieter T. J. Johnson, Kevin D. Lafferty, Carolyn M. Malmstrom, Patrick Martin, Alison Power, David L. Strayer, Peter H. Thrall, Maria UriarteWhen parasites become prey: ecological and epidemiological significance of eating parasites
Recent efforts to include parasites in food webs have drawn attention to a previously ignored facet of foraging ecology: parasites commonly function as prey within ecosystems. Because of the high productivity of parasites, their unique nutritional composition and their pathogenicity in hosts, their consumption affects both food-web topology and disease risk in humans and wildlife. Here, we evaluatAuthorsPieter T.J. Johnson, Andrew P. Dobson, Kevin D. Lafferty, David J. Marcogliese, Jane Memmott, Sarah A. Orlofske, Robert Poulin, David W. Thieltges - News
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government