AimParasites play a fundamental role in shaping ecological communities and influencing trophic interactions. Understanding the factors that drive parasite impacts on community structure and stability (i.e. resilience to disturbances) is crucial for predicting disease dynamics and implementing effective conservation strategies. In this study, using avian malaria and malaria‐like parasites as a model system, we investigated the relationship between specificity, community stability and parasite vulnerability and their association with host diversity and climate.LocationGlobal.Time period2009–2023.Major taxa studiedAvian malaria and malaria‐like parasites.MethodsBy compiling occurrence data from a global avian haemosporidian parasite database (MalAvi), we constructed a comprehensive dataset encompassing 60 communities. We utilized a phylogenetic model approach to predict missing host–parasite interactions, enhancing the accuracy of our analyses. Network analyses based on bipartite interactions provided measures of network specificity, stability, modularity, parasite competition and vulnerability to extinction.ResultsWe found that the high network specificity reduced community stability and decreased competition among parasites. Furthermore, we found that parasite vulnerability decreased with increasing community stability, highlighting the importance of community stability in host–parasite interactions for long‐term parasite persistence. When exploring the influence of local host diversity and climate conditions on host–parasite community stability, we demonstrated that increasing host biodiversity and precipitation reduces parasite competition. Conversely, higher temperature raises competition among parasites.ConclusionThese findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying parasite impacts on communities and the interplay between specificity, community stability and environmental factors. Further, we reveal the role of climate in shaping host–parasite interactions. By unravelling the complexities of parasite‐mediated interactions, our research substantially improves the current knowledge of the importance of specificity as a modulator of interactions in bipartite networks.

中文翻译：

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网络特异性降低了禽类血孢子寄生虫及其宿主之间的群落稳定性和竞争

目的寄生虫在塑造生态群落和影响营养相互作用方面发挥着重要作用。了解寄生虫对群落结构和稳定性（即抗干扰能力）影响的因素对于预测疾病动态和实施有效的保护策略至关重要。在这项研究中，使用禽类疟疾和类疟疾寄生虫作为模型系统，我们研究了特异性、群落稳定性和寄生虫脆弱性之间的关系及其与宿主多样性和气候的关联。地点全球。时间段2009-2023。主要分类单元研究了禽类疟疾和疟疾类疟疾寄生虫。方法通过编译全球禽类血孢子寄生虫数据库 (MalAvi) 的发生数据，我们构建了一个涵盖 60 个社区的综合数据集。我们利用系统发育模型方法来预测缺失的宿主-寄生虫相互作用，从而提高了分析的准确性。基于双向相互作用的网络分析提供了网络特异性、稳定性、模块化、寄生虫竞争和灭绝脆弱性的测量。结果我们发现，高网络特异性降低了群落稳定性并减少了寄生虫之间的竞争。此外，我们发现寄生虫的脆弱性随着群落稳定性的增加而降低，这凸显了群落稳定性在宿主与寄生虫相互作用中对于寄生虫长期存在的重要性。在探索当地寄主多样性和气候条件对寄主-寄生虫群落稳定性的影响时，我们证明增加寄主生物多样性和降水可以减少寄生虫竞争。相反，较高的温度会加剧寄生虫之间的竞争。结论这些发现为了解寄生虫对群落影响的机制以及特异性、群落稳定性和环境因素之间的相互作用提供了有价值的见解。此外，我们揭示了气候在塑造宿主与寄生虫相互作用中的作用。通过揭示寄生虫介导的相互作用的复杂性，我们的研究极大地提高了目前对特异性作为二分网络相互作用调节剂重要性的认识。