David Thieltges

De schaduw van de oester biedt een koele schuilplaats | WadWeten Onder oesterriffen blijkt het opvallend koeler dan in de rest van hun omgeving. Dat biedt andere beestjes en schelpdieren mogelijk een schuilplaats tegen de steeds hetere zomers.

New article the WadWeten series (in Dutch) about our recent paper on temperature logger measurements on oyster reefs: lc.nl/friesland/wa...

What temperatures do intertidal organisms experience on oyster beds in the temperate Wadden Sea? We used biomimetic temperature loggers deployed on two oyster beds for a year to find out.

Check our new paper in Marine Environmental Research:

doi.org/10.1016/j.ma...

#IMPACT researcher Cyril Hammoud reveals long-term changes in wildlife parasites at the Belgian Society of Parasitology & Protistology Annual meeting. @biodiversa.eu

What is needed to improve our understanding of long-term trends in parasite infection and diversity? Integrating large-scale parasite monitoring programs with existing ecological monitoring projects, plus developing new scalable biomonitoring tools. Read more 👉 doi.org/10.1002/brv.... @biodiversa.eu

<i>Gordius wulingensis</i> Horsehair worms are a menace to crickets (as well as mantis , millipedes , and centipedes ) everywhere. Imagine being a cricket going about ...

Bad Worm Rising:
I've written a post about Gordius wulingensis - a white hairworm that lurks in limestone caves and turn camel crickets into living incubators
#Invertebrate 🧪
dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2025/12/gord...

(PDF) Catalogue of parasites and diseases of the common cockle Cerastoderma edule PDF | On Feb 24, 2021, Xavier de Montaudouin and others published Catalogue of parasites and diseases of the common cockle Cerastoderma edule | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Researc...

Definitively a trematode cercaria! It is most likely Bucephalus (Labratrena) minimus, which infects cockles:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

The recently formed IUCN Parasite Specialist Group has just launched a Bluesky account. Give them a follow to get news about the conservation and amazing biology of parasites. Many parasite species are co-endangered with their hosts and need more conservation attention. 🌍🧪🪱

New Review alert! From obligate to opportunistic #ectoparasites: unlikely heroes of environmental monitoring, authored by Beric Gilbert, Ronnie Mooney & @fionahenriquez.bsky.social‬. #biomonitoring @uniwestscotland.bsky.social‬ ‪@unistrathclyde.bsky.social‬

authors.elsevier.com/a/1lgsH5Eb1x...

Our Marine Science Communication doc highlights the critical need to strengthen capacity in Europe, develop dedicated training programs, engage in deeper & wider collaboration with stakeholders, & closely interact with @unoceandecade.bsky.social & #MissionOcean: www.marineboard.eu/publications...

Fucus algal meadow in the Baltic Sea

Doctoral position on genomic basis of Fucus (brown algal) local adaptation - join our exciting #Fubluc team! Fully funded for 3.5 years & we also consider candidates with strong molecular or bioinformatic skillls but no marine / algal experience, see www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...

HIFMB colleague @thejupiterfour.bsky.social is chairing the session on "Trait-Based Approaches to Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function and Biogeographic Patterns" at the Ocean Sciences Meeting #OSM2026 in Glasgow next year.
Want to contribute? Submit your abstract until August 20.

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

For @biographic.bsky.social, writer @craigwelch.bsky.social followed @hakai.org scientist @rhizalyssa.bsky.social's quest to unveil the the killer that decimated populations of sea stars off the West Coast. It took a few years but the lab's hard work paid off: www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

We are so proud of our sea star wasting work that came out today. This interactive article is very complete and includes beautiful videos.
Unmasking the Sea Star Killer www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

Very proud of the work from lab members and collaborators that coincidentally came out today www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... and www.nature.com/articles/s41.... A bacterial and viral pathogen associated with mass mortality in seastars and oysters. @kevinzhong2006.bsky.social @rhizalyssa.bsky.social

Nice to see this joint collaborative effort out now in the August issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment ‪@esajournals.bsky.social‬

Open access

doi:10.1002/fee.2849

Long-term parasite decline associated with near extinction and conservation of the critically endangered kākāpō parrot Boast et al. analyze a unique fecal record of the endangered kākāpō parrot to reveal >800 years of changing parasite communities. Parasite losses occur during the species’ decline to near extinction a...

Some literally amazing research on parasite coextinction and recovery in the kakapo - makes me so happy to see this www.cell.com/current-biol...

Host–Parasite Trophic Interactions as Revealed by Stable Isotope Analyses: Determinants for Trophic and Isotopic Niches of Hosts and Their Associated Parasites The analysis of stable isotopes (SIA) in organisms, especially those of carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N), is a well-established and powerful tool for analysing trophic interactions between free...

🧬🐛 What can parasites teach us about food webs?
Stable isotope analysis (SIA) as a powerful tool now also in parasitology! Our chapter dives into how SIA and compound-specific SIA (CSIA) reveal what parasites eat and how they impact hosts metabolism and entire food webs. doi.org/10.1007/978-...

Tangled communities: links between predation and parasitism through trophically transmitted digeneans in aquatic communities Many trophically transmitted digeneans (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda) benefit from prey–predator interactions to complete the last step of their life cy…

It's an incredible joy to see former mentees evolve into scientists who surpass me by far. There's no greater pride. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🧪

Hallo artist community, this one is for you! Together with @hanse-ias.bsky.social we are looking for an artist in residence in early 2026. Please share!
#artscience #artistinresidence #marinebiodiversity

The title of the paper: "A minimum data standard for wildlife disease research and surveillance" - and an example data table

NEW! 🎉 We need wildlife disease surveillance to predict epidemics, but data sharing is rare - we found that only 2-3% of studies share raw data. So, we spent three years developing a data standard and R package to help get wildlife disease data into FAIR repositories. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Parasite of the Month: #Pthirus #pubis, #pubic #louse, a #blood-feeding #ectoparasite transmitted through close physical/sexual contact, authored by J. Votýpka, J. Bulantová & J. Lukeš @sciencecharles.bsky.social‬ ‪@charlesuni.cuni.cz‬ ‪@czechacademy.bsky.social‬
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lIjN5Eb1x...

Our latest newsletter profiles IMPACT's student members. Find out how they contribute to our understanding of parasite biodiversity here 👉 www.nina.no/english/IMPACT

Anti-Autokratie-Handbuch: 26 Werkzeuge zur Verteidigung der Demokratie In einem Handbuch geben Wissenschaftler*innen aus den USA und Europa Ratschläge, wie sich Menschen im akademischen Betrieb gegen aufkeimenden Autoritarismus stemmen können – abgestuft nach Risiko-Leve...

In einem Handbuch geben Wissenschaftler*innen aus den USA und Europa Ratschläge, wie sich Menschen im akademischen Betrieb gegen aufkeimenden Autoritarismus stemmen können – abgestuft nach Risiko-Level. Das ist nicht nur für Forschende lesenswert.

netzpolitik.org/2025/anti-au...

In a synthesis of over 3000 population trends in the Wadden Sea, we show a substantial reorganization of biodiversity with over 38% of populations undergoing significant change (i.e., increases or decreases), identify winners and losers and critical time points of change! dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....

Everything you always wanted to know about parasites and stable isotopes in one book chapter:
link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

From the new #openaccess book on Aquatic Parasitology, edited by @nicojsmit.bsky.social & ‪@berndsures.bsky.social
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Picture: The tongue replacement isopod Ceratothoa famosa in the mouth of the Cape bream (Diplodus capensis)

Recently published, the new comprehensive guide on Aquatic Parasitology edited by @berndsures.bsky.social and Nico Smit explores the role of aquatic #parasites in freshwater and #marineecosystems – for the first time on a global scale: www.uni-due.de/2025-06-11-t...

#UDE

<i>Sacculina pugettiae</i> Sacculina pilosella is a parasite of spider crabs ( Scyra ferox ), and while it is technically a barnacle, you're going to have to abandon ...

Two Barnacles, One Crab: 🦀
I've written a post about a pair of parasitic barnacles that infect spider crabs.

These barnacles grow roots that spread throughout the crab's body, some of which make their way into the host's brain.
#Invertebrate #crab 🧪
dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2025/06/sacc...

Vector of the Month: #Gnathia #Africana (#African #fish #gnat), a temporary #ectoparasitic #isopod & the vector transmitting #apicomplexan parasite #Haemogregarina #bigemina among #fish hosts in #SouthAfrica, written by Kerry Hadfield, Anja Erasmus & Nico Smit.

authors.elsevier.com/a/1kzle5Eb1x...

An image of two lionfish. Overlay text reads: Major New Resource, Global Impacts Dataset of Invasive Alien Species

🗞️Authors from the @ipbes.net #InvasiveAlienSpecies Report have published the Global Impacts Dataset of Invasive Alien Species derived from the report, creating a global resource for investigating and managing the impacts of invasive alien species. 🌍🧪

Read more in ‪@nature.com‬ bit.ly/43APoP7

Aquatic Parasitology: Ecological and Environmental Concepts and Implications of Marine and Freshwater Parasites A unique open access collection on ecological and environmental parasitology in marine and freshwater. Covers climate change and parasite conservation.

🚨 Thrilled and honoured to lead the chapter on using #eDNA for studying aquatic #parasites - a part of just-published book on #openaccess Aquatic Parasitology led by @berndsures.bsky.social & @nicojsmit.bsky.social with top parasitologists contributing!

link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

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