Host–Parasite and Host–Parasitoid Relationships and Disease

Shields et al. (2006, p. 146), in a treatment of lobster diseases, quoted Stewart (1980) as follows: “The lobster is no exception to the rule that all living things are subject to disease, and that each appears to have its own group of afictions.” The problem, of course, is that the diseases of most organisms are still unknown unless they have medical, veterinary, or economic importance. We have a long way to go in this area of science.