Parasites experience two environments; one reflecting external conditions, the other created by the living host. The constraints imposed by these environments provide an avenue into the rich diversity of parasitology. The subjects of this volume are relevant to evolution, ecology, physiology, biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology and phylogenetic analysis. Papers review familiar and unfamiliar extreme physical conditions from low temperatures and desiccation to the powerful water currents faced by some fish parasites. The environment created by the host and parasite adaptation to host immunity is covered in several papers, including immune evasion, host-switching and the effect of parasites on the evolution of immunity.
Xenopus, the African clawed frog, is one of the three most widely cited vertebrate animals in the biological literature, yet almost all knowledge is based on laboratory experience of a single species,
