South American invertebrate pathology: An editorial for the special issue.

🤖 Plain-English Summary

South America has extraordinary biodiversity, with an immense variety of invertebrate species playing a critical role in ecosystems. This special issue presents a range of studies pertaining to invertebrate pathology from the South American region, including viral, protozoan and metazoan diseases across a wide range of host species.

🔑 Key Findings

• Molluscs and crustaceans support fisheries and aquaculture worldwide, but their populations are increasingly threatened by pathogens.
• Understanding host-parasite interactions is essential for managing disease outbreaks and ensuring the sustainability of both natural ecosystems and aquaculture systems.
• Bivalves, gastropods and crustaceans are hosts to numerous lineages of parasites, highlighting the interactions that shape ecological dynamics and influence both conservation efforts and disease management strategies.

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