Armand Kuris

Armand Kuris portrait
Professor of Zoology, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology Biology Faculty, College of Creative Studies
1. The overall goal of my research is to reveal the role of infectious diseases in ecosystems. Our system for intensive investigation is the salt marshes of California and Baja California, where about 20 species of trematodes parasitize a wide array of invertebrates and vertebrates. Our work indicates that they contribute substantially to the energetics of the ecosystem and substantially alter trophic relationships and the structure of food webs. 2. We are developing a theoretical frame-work for the evolution of intimate, durable exploitative interactions (“parasitism”) and evaluating its ecological implications. This includes the first insertion of parasites into metabolic ecology analyses and the discovery of social organization in clones of larval trematodes. 3. My research also emphasizes theory in the service of application. Recent examples include: a) Development of the concept of biological control using natural enemies for introduced marine pest species. We are developing theory and testing the safety of parasitic castrators as natural enemies against the invasive New Zealand mud snail in California. b) Biological control of schistosomiasis, a major human tropical disease. We are investigating the efficacy of Louisiana crayfish and native prawns as predators of the intermediate snail host of the urinary blood fluke, Schistosoma haematobium and the intestinal blood fluke, S. mansoni. Use of information about parasites to assess ecosystem function in wetlands.

Publications: 

The abundance and significance of a class of large, transparent organic particles in the ocean AL Alldredge, U Passow, BE Logan Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 40 (6), 1131-1140 Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) in aquatic environments U Passow Progress in Oceanography 55 (3), 287-333 The role of particulate carbohydrate exudates in the flocculation of diatom blooms U Passow, AL Alldredge, BE Logan Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 41 (2), 335-357

Mailing Address: 

UCSB Marine Science Institute Bldg 520 Rm 4002 Fl 4L Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6150 United States

Publications

Lafferty, K. D., Smith, K. F., Torchin, M. E., Dobson, A. P., & Kuris, A. M.. (2005). The role of infectious disease in natural communities: what introduced species tell us.
Miura, O., Kuris, A. M., Torchin, M. E., Hechinger, R. F., Dunham, E. J., & Chiba, S.. (2005). Molecular-genetic analyses reveal cryptic species of trematodes in the intertidal gastropod, Batillaria cumingi (Crosse). International journal for parasitology, 35(7), 793-801.
Warren, C., Pascual, M., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2005). Parasitic Networks on Food Webs: Clustering, Nestedness and the Inverted Niche Model. Unpublished paper (in preparation).
McCallum, H. I., Kuris, A., Harvell, C. D., Lafferty, K. D., Smith, G. W., & Porter, J.. (2004). Does terrestrial epidemiology apply to marine systems?. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 19(11), 585-591.
Armand M. Kuris. Kuris, A. M. Evolutionary ecology of trophically transmitted parasites. J. Parasitol. 89, S96–S100 (2003)
. Kuris AM. 2003. Did biological control cause extinction of the coconut moth, Levuana iridescens, in Fiji? Biological invasions 5:133-141.
Torchin, M. E., Lafferty, K. D., Dobson, A. P., McKenzie, V. J., & Kuris, A. M.. (2003). Introduced species and their missing parasites. Nature, 421(6923), 628-630.
Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2002). Trophic strategies, animal diversity and body size. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 17(11), 507-513.
Torchin, M. E., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M. . (2002). Parasites and marine invasions. Parasitology, 124(07), 137-151.
Torchin, M. E., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2001). Release from parasites as natural enemies: increased performance of a globally introduced marine crab. Biological Invasions, 3(4), 333-345.
Kuris, A. M., & Lafferty, K. D.. (2000). Parasite-host modeling meets reality: adaptive peaks and their ecological attributes. Evolutionary biology of host–parasite relationships: theory meets reality, 9-26.
Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (1999). How environmental stress affects the impacts of parasites. Limnology and Oceanography, 44(3), 925-931.
Mkoji, G. M., Hofkin, B. V., Kuris, A. M., Stewart-Oaten, A., Mungai, B. N., Kihara, J. H., ... & Loker, E. S.. (1999). Impact of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii on Schistosoma haematobium transmission in Kenya. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 61(5), 751-759.
Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (1996). Biological control of marine pests. Ecology, 1989-2000.
Kuris, A. M., & Lafferty, K. D.. (1994). Community structure: larval trematodes in snail hosts. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 189-217.
Lafferty, K. D., Sammond, D. T., & Kuris, A. M.. (1994). Analysis of larval trematode communities. Ecology, 2275-2285.
Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (1993). Mass mortality of abalone Haliotis cracherodii on the California Channel Islands: tests of epidemiological hypotheses. Marine Ecology-Progress Series, 96, 239-239.
Kuris, A. M., & Lafferty, K. D.. (1992). Modelling crustacean fisheries: effects of parasites on management strategies. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 49(2), 327-336.
Kuris, A. M., Blau, S. F., Paul, A. J., Shields, J. D., & Wickham, D. E.. (1991). Infestation by brood symbionts and their impact on egg mortality of the red king crab, Paralithodes camtschatica, in Alaska: geographic and temporal variation. Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences, 48(4), 559-568.
Kuris, A. M., & Norton, S. F.. (1985). Evolutionary importance of overspecialization: insect parasitoids as an example. American Naturalist, 387-391.
Kuris, A. M., Blaustein, A. R., & Alio, J. J.. (1980). Hosts as islands. American Naturalist, 570-586.
Kuris, A. M., & Blaustein, A. R.. (1977). Ectoparasitic mites on rodents: application of the island biogeography theory. Science, 195(4278), 596-598.
Kuris, A. M.. (1974). Trophic interactions: similarity of parasitic castrators to parasitoids. Quarterly Review of Biology, 129-148.
Kuris, A. M.. (1973). Biological control: implications of the analogy between the trophic interactions of insect pest-parasitoid and snail-trematode systems. Experimental parasitology, 33(2), 365-379.
Kaplan, A. T., Rebhal, S., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2009). Small estuarine fishes feed on large trematode cercariae: lab and field investigations. Journal of Parasitology, 95(2), 477-480.