BIODIVERSITY may have a downside: parasites are likely to become a problem as the number of species in a protected area increases. If this is true, maximising the biodiversity of wildlife reserves may not always be the best option.
Over the past few years, conservationists have tried to minimise the transfer of disease-causing microbes and protozoans between species. These pathogens can ruin attempts to move members of threatened species to game reserves. But larger parasites such as roundworms and tapeworms, which tend not to be lethal, have received much less notice.
That may turn out to be a glaring oversight.…
