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COMMENTARY ON ANOTHER “DEFINING THE FIELD”

COMMENTARY ON ANOTHER “DEFINING THE FIELD” J. Parasitol., 86(2), 2000 p. 205 American Society of Parasitologists 2000 EDITOR'S NOTE . . . ``The crowding effect in tapeworm infections,'' an article by Clark P. Read, appeared in the Journal of Parasitology (37: 174­178) in April 1951. It has been one of the most widely and frequently cited papers over the last 50 yr. When I began thinking about the ``Defining the Field'' series for the Journal, the ``crowding effect'' paper was an obvious choice. On a personal note, I can vividly recall spending time with Read's paper as a graduate student in the late 1950s and early 1960s. After all, even by that time it was a must read (no pun intended!), and I am certain that I have read or at least perused it more than one time since. While re-reading the paper just a few months ago, I became quite intrigued (as one with an ecological interest) by what I thought it had said when I first read it many years ago. At this point, I was reminded that, despite its clear ecological implications, the paper is decidedly physiological in scope. Regardless of one's interests, whether ecology and physiology, the paper has had a substantial scientific impact and, in my opinion, still should be required reading for students in both fields. For these reasons, I determined it was necessary to give it balanced treatment for our ``Defining the Field'' series. I therefore asked Al Bush and Jeff Lotz to comment on it from an ecological point of view. Both of these distinguished investigators have long-standing experience in dealing with competitive interactions involving parasites. To examine the paper from the perspective of cestode physiology, I invited Larry Roberts who also has had a most distinguished research career, part of which has been directed at resolving some of the questions raised by Read's paper on the ``crowding effect'' in tapeworms. Finally, an additional point should be made. Since 1951, a number of significant papers emerged because of Read's insight regarding the ``crowding effect.'' One or more of these articles will be our focus in a subsequent segment of this series. In the first ``Defining the Field'' (Journal of Parasitology 85: 397­ 403), David Crompton provided an informative update of Norman Stoll's historically important, ``This wormy world,'' published in 1947. I believe that Al Bush, Jeff Lotz, and Larry Roberts have achieved the same end for Clark Read's, ``The crowding effect in tapeworm infections,'' originally published in the Journal in 1951 and reprinted here in its entirety. Gerald W. Esch, Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston­Salem, North Carolina 27109. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Parasitology Allen Press

COMMENTARY ON ANOTHER “DEFINING THE FIELD”

Esch, Gerald W.
Journal of Parasitology , Volume 86 (2) – Apr 1, 2000
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Publisher
Allen Press
Copyright
American Society of Parasitologists
ISSN
0022-3395
eISSN
1937-2345
DOI
10.1645/0022-3395%282000%29086%5B0205:COADTF%5D2.0.CO%3B2
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

J. Parasitol., 86(2), 2000 p. 205 American Society of Parasitologists 2000 EDITOR'S NOTE . . . ``The crowding effect in tapeworm infections,'' an article by Clark P. Read, appeared in the Journal of Parasitology (37: 174­178) in April 1951. It has been one of the most widely and frequently cited papers over the last 50 yr. When I began thinking about the ``Defining the Field'' series for the Journal, the ``crowding effect'' paper was an obvious choice. On a personal note, I can vividly recall spending time with Read's paper as a graduate student in the late 1950s and early 1960s. After all, even by that time it was a must read (no pun intended!), and I am certain that I have read or at least perused it more than one time since. While re-reading the paper just a few months ago, I became quite intrigued (as one with an ecological interest) by what I thought it had said when I first read it many years ago. At this point, I was reminded that, despite its clear ecological implications, the paper is decidedly physiological in scope. Regardless of one's interests, whether ecology and physiology, the paper has had a substantial scientific impact and, in my opinion, still should be required reading for students in both fields. For these reasons, I determined it was necessary to give it balanced treatment for our ``Defining the Field'' series. I therefore asked Al Bush and Jeff Lotz to comment on it from an ecological point of view. Both of these distinguished investigators have long-standing experience in dealing with competitive interactions involving parasites. To examine the paper from the perspective of cestode physiology, I invited Larry Roberts who also has had a most distinguished research career, part of which has been directed at resolving some of the questions raised by Read's paper on the ``crowding effect'' in tapeworms. Finally, an additional point should be made. Since 1951, a number of significant papers emerged because of Read's insight regarding the ``crowding effect.'' One or more of these articles will be our focus in a subsequent segment of this series. In the first ``Defining the Field'' (Journal of Parasitology 85: 397­ 403), David Crompton provided an informative update of Norman Stoll's historically important, ``This wormy world,'' published in 1947. I believe that Al Bush, Jeff Lotz, and Larry Roberts have achieved the same end for Clark Read's, ``The crowding effect in tapeworm infections,'' originally published in the Journal in 1951 and reprinted here in its entirety. Gerald W. Esch, Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston­Salem, North Carolina 27109.

Journal

Journal of Parasitology – Allen Press

Published: Apr 1, 2000

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