Parasite success typically depends on a close relationship with one or more hosts; therefore, attributes of parasitic infection have the potential to provide indirect details of host natural history and are biologically relevant to animal conservation. Characterization of parasite infections has been useful in delineating host populations and has served as a proxy for assessment of environmental quality. In other cases, the utility of parasites is just being explored, for example, as indicators of host connectivity. Innovative studies of parasite biology can provide information to manage major conservation threats by using parasite assemblage, prevalence, or genetic data to provide insights into the host. Overexploitation, habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, and climate change are major threats to animal conservation, and all of these can be informed by parasites.

中文翻译：

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寄生虫作为保护工具

寄生虫的成功通常取决于与一个或多个宿主的密切关系；因此，寄生虫感染的属性有可能提供宿主自然历史的间接细节，并且在生物学上与动物保护相关。寄生虫感染的特征在描绘宿主种群方面很有用，并已作为评估环境质量的代表。在其他情况下，正在探索寄生虫的效用，例如，作为主机连接性的指标。寄生虫生物学的创新研究可以提供信息，通过使用寄生虫组合、流行或遗传数据来管理主要的保护威胁，从而深入了解宿主。过度开发、栖息地丧失和破碎化、入侵物种和气候变化是动物保护的主要威胁，