Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Reports of marine parasites and diseases are increasing worldwide; however, they are woefully understudied compared to their terrestrial counterparts. Part of the disparity stems from the logistical difficulties of working and sampling in the ocean as well as the open nature of many marine populations, which decrease the visibility and tractability of marine parasites. As the knowledge base of marine parasites and diseases is built, it must be recognized that such a process is more than just cataloguing species. Rather, appropriate frameworks for understanding which parasites and diseases are impactful, how they affect species other than their hosts, how they are exacerbated by environmental factors, and how they may adapt to conditions of global change are needed. The fields of ecology and evolution provide an important framework to gain that detailed, contextualized understanding. To that end, The Ecology and Evolution of Marine Parasites and Disease synthesizes the cutting-edge approaches to these fields by some of the top marine parasitologists in the world studying from these perspectives. The book has five sections that (1) explicate what makes certain parasites problematic and how to detect and monitor those that are; (2) provide detailed empirical examples of parasites and disease in some of the most iconic hosts; (3) summarize insights gained from large spatial- and temporal-scale studies of parasites and disease; (4) review factors that interact, exacerbate, and covary with parasites and disease; and (5) explore evolutionary and genetic aspects of disease and parasites, including factors like co-evolution and local adaptation.</jats:p>