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

DP Benesh, KD Lafferty, A Kuris. Ecology 98 (3), 882-882
Buck JC, Hechinger RF, Wood AC, Stewart TE, Kuris AM, Lafferty KD. (2017) Ecology 98: 2029-2038.
Susanne H Sokolow, Isabel J Jones, Merlijn Jocque, Diana La, Olivia Cords, Anika Knight, Andrea Lund, Chelsea L Wood, Kevin D Lafferty, Christopher M Hoover, Phillip A Collender, Justin V Remais, David Lopez-Carr, Jonathan Fisk, Armand M Kuris, Giulio A De Leo. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 372 (1722), 20160127
Susanne H Sokolow, Chelsea L Wood, Isabel J Jones, Kevin D Lafferty, Armand M Kuris, Michael H Hsieh, Giulio A De Leo. Trends in Parasitology 34:23-40
Miroslava Soldánová, Simona Georgieva, Jana Roháčová, Rune Knudsen, Jesper A Kuhn, Eirik H Henriksen, Anna Siwertsson, Jenny C Shaw, Armand M Kuris, Per-Arne Amundsen, Tomáš Scholz, Kevin D Lafferty, Aneta Kostadinova. International Journal for Parasitology 47 (6), 327-345
Víctor Manuel Vidal-Martínez, Lilia Catherinne Soler-Jimenez, Ma Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo, John Mclaughlin, Alejandra G Jaramillo, Jenny C Shaw, Anna James, Ryan F Hechinger, Armand M Kuris, Kevin D Lafferty. Zookeys 713:1
Sara B Weinstein, Camille M Lake, Holly M Chastain, David Fisk, Sukwan Handali, Philip L Kahn, Susan P Montgomery, Patricia P Wilkins, Armand M Kuris, Kevin D Lafferty. Emerging infectious diseases 23 (8), 1397
Eirik H Henriksen, Rune Knudsen, Roar Kristoffersen, Armand M Kuris, Kevin D Lafferty, Anna Siwertsson, Per-Arne Amundsen. Hydrobiologia 783 (1), 37-46
Kuris, A. M.. 2016. Thoughts on how I write a letter of recommendation
Kuris, A.M. Lafferty, K.D.. 2016.  When do I get my PhD?
Lorda, J., Hechinger, R.F., Cooper, S.D., Kuris, A.M., Lafferty, K.D.. (2016). Intraguild predation by shore crabs affects mortality, behavior, growth, and densities of California horn snails. Ecosphere, 7
Sokolow, Susanne H, Wood, Chelsea L, Jones, Isabel J, Swartz, Scott J, Lopez, Melina, Hsieh, Michael H, Lafferty, Kevin D, Kuris, Armand M, Rickards, Chloe, De Leo, Giulio A,. (2016). Global assessment of schistosomiasis control over the past century shows targeting the snail intermediate host works best. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 10, e0004794.
Weinstein, S.B. Kuris, A.M.. (2106) Independent origins of parasitism in Animalia. Biology Letters, 12, 20160324. 
Wood, C.L., Lafferty, K.D., DeLeo, G., Young, H.S., Hudson, P.J., Kuris, A.M. . (2016). Does biodiversity protect humans against infectious disease? Reply. Ecology, 97, 542-545
Armand M. Kuris, Alejandra G. Jaramillo, John P. McLaughlin, Sara B. Weinstein, Ana E. Garcia-Vedrenne, George O. Poinar Jr.*, Maria Pickering†, Michelle L. Steinauer‡, Magaly Espinoza, Jacob E. Ashford, and Gabriela L. P. Dunn. Journal of Parasitology, 101(1): 41–44
K. D. Lafferty, G. DeLeo, C. J. Briggs, A. P. Dobson, Thilo Gross, Armand M. Kuris. K. D. Lafferty, G. DeLeo, C. J. Briggs, A. P. Dobson, Thilo Gross, Armand M. Kuris 2015.  A general consumer-resource population model.  Science 349:854-857.
K. D. Lafferty, G. DeLeo, C. J. Briggs, A. P. Dobson, T. Gross, A. M. Kuris. See Lafferty et al. 2015 Science
Lafferty, Kevin D., Harvell, C. Drew, Conrad, Jon M., Friedman, Carolyn S., Kent, Michael L., Kuris, Armand M., Powell, Eric N., Rondeau, Daniel, Saksida, Sonja M.. (2015). Infectious diseases affect marine fisheries and aquaculture economics. In: Annual Review of Marine Science, Vol 7 (eds. Carlson, CA & Giovannoni, SJ), pp. 471-496.
Sokolow, S. H., Huttinger, E., Jouanard, N., Hsieh, M. H., Lafferty, K. D., Kuris, A. M., ... & De Leo, G. A.. (2015). Reduced transmission of human schistosomiasis after restoration of a native river prawn that preys on the snail intermediate host. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(31), 9650-9655.
Kuris, A. M., Lafferty, K. D., & Sokolow, S. H.. (2014). Sapronosis: a distinctive type of infectious agent. Trends in parasitology, 30(8), 386-393. 
Lafferty, K.D., Kuris, A.M.. (2014). Ecological consequences of host manipulation by parasites. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 54, E117-E117
Weinersmith, K. L., Warinner, C. B., Tan, V., Harris, D. J., Mora, A. B., Kuris, A. M., ... & Hechinger, R. F.. (2014). A lack of crowding? Body size does not decrease with density for two behavior-manipulating parasites. Integrative and comparative biology, icu081.
Sokolow, S. H., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2013). Regulation of laboratory populations of snails (Biomphalaria and Bulinus spp.) by river prawns, Macrobrachium spp.(Decapoda, Palaemonidae): Implications for control of schistosomiasis. Acta tropica, 132, 64-74. 
Vidal-Martínez, V. M., Aguirre-Macedo, M. L., McLaughlin, J. P., Hechinger, R. F., Jaramillo, A. G., Shaw, J. C., ... & Lafferty, K. D.. (2012). Digenean metacercariae of fishes from the lagoon flats of Palmyra Atoll, Eastern Indo-Pacific. Journal of helminthology, 86(04), 493-509.
Grutter, A. S., Crean, A. J., Curtis, L. M., Kuris, A. M., Warner, R. R., & McCormick, M. I.. (2011). Indirect effects of an ectoparasite reduce successful establishment of a damselfish at settlement. Functional Ecology, 25(3), 586-594.
Hechinger, R. F., Wood, A. C., & Kuris, A. M.. (2011). Social organization in a flatworm: trematode parasites form soldier and reproductive castes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 278(1706), 656-665.
Hechinger, R. F., Lafferty, K. D., Dobson, A. P., Brown, J. H., & Kuris, A. M.. (2011). A common scaling rule for abundance, energetics, and production of parasitic and free-living species. Science, 333(6041), 445-448.
Shaw, J. C., Hechinger, R. F., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2010). Ecology of the brain trematode Euhaplorchis californiensis and its host, the California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis). Journal of Parasitology, 96(3), 482-490.
Amundsen, P. A., Lafferty, K. D., Knudsen, R., Primicerio, R., Klemetsen, A., & Kuris, A. M.. (2009). Food web topology and parasites in the pelagic zone of a subarctic lake. Journal of Animal Ecology, 78(3), 563-572.
Blakeslee, A. M., Keogh, C. L., Byers, J. E., Kuris, A. M., Lafferty, K. D., & Torchin, M. E.. (2009). Differential escape from parasites by two competing introduced crabs. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 393, 83-96.
Hechinger, R. F., Lafferty, K. D., Mancini III, F. T., Warner, R. R., & Kuris, A. M. . (2009). How large is the hand in the puppet? Ecological and evolutionary factors affecting body mass of 15 trematode parasitic castrators in their snail host. Evolutionary Ecology, 23(5), 651-667.
Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2009). Parasites reduce food web robustness because they are sensitive to secondary extinction as illustrated by an invasive estuarine snail. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1524), 1659-1663.
Shaw, J. C., Korzan, W. J., Carpenter, R. E., Kuris, A. M., Lafferty, K. D., Summers, C. H., & Øverli, Ø.. (2009). Parasite manipulation of brain monoamines in California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis) by the trematode Euhaplorchis californiensis. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 276(1659), 1137-1146.
Dobson, A., Lafferty, K. D., Kuris, A. M., Hechinger, R. F., & Jetz, W.. (2008). Homage to Linnaeus: How many parasites? How many hosts?. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(Supplement 1), 11482-11489.
Hechinger, R. F., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2008). Trematodes indicate animal biodiversity in the Chilean intertidal and Lake Tanganyika. Journal of Parasitology, 94(4), 966-968.
Hechinger, R. F., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2008). Diversity increases biomass production for trematode parasites in snails. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 275(1652), 2707-2714.
Kuris, A. M., Hechinger, R. F., Shaw, J. C., Whitney, K. L., Aguirre-Macedo, L., Boch, C. A., ... & Lafferty, K. D.. (2008). Ecosystem energetic implications of parasite and free-living biomass in three estuaries. Nature, 454(7203), 515-518.
Lafferty, K. D., Shaw, J. C., & Kuris, A. M.. (2008). Reef fishes have higher parasite richness at unfished Palmyra Atoll compared to fished Kiritimati Island. EcoHealth, 5(3), 338-345.
Lafferty, K. D., Allesina, S., Arim, M., Briggs, C. J., De Leo, G., Dobson, A. P., ... & Thieltges, D. W.. (2008). Parasites in food webs: the ultimate missing links. Ecology letters, 11(6), 533-546.
Penfold, R., Grutter, A. S., Kuris, A. M., McCormick, M. I., & Jones, C. M.. (2008). Interactions between juvenile marine fish and gnathiid isopods: predation versus micropredation. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 357, 111-119.
Hechinger, R. F., Lafferty, K. D., Huspeni, T. C., Brooks, A. J., & Kuris, A. M. (2007). Can parasites be indicators of free-living diversity? Relationships between species richness and the abundance of larval trematodes and of local benthos and fishes. Oecologia, 151(1), 82-92.. (2007). Can parasites be indicators of free-living diversity? Relationships between species richness and the abundance of larval trematodes and of local benthos and fishes. Oecologia, 151(1), 82-92.
Kuris, A. M., Goddard, J. H., Torchin, M. E., Murphy, N., Gurney, R., & Lafferty, K. D.. (2007). An experimental evaluation of host specificity: the role of encounter and compatibility filters for a rhizocephalan parasite of crabs. International journal for parasitology, 37(5), 539-545.
Whitney, K. L., Hechinger, R. F., Kuris, A. M., & Lafferty, K. D. . (2007). Endangered light-footed clapper rail affects parasite community structure in coastal wetlands. Ecological applications, 17(6), 1694-1702.
Dobson, A. P., Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2006). Parasites and food webs. Ecological networks: linking structure to dynamics in food webs. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 119-135.
Gurney, R. H., Rybakov, A. V., Hoeg, J. T., & Kuris, A. M.. (2006). Sacculina nectocarcini, a new species of rhizocephalan (Cirripedia: Rhizocephala) parasitising the red rock crab Nectocarcinus integrifrons (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae). Zootaxa, (1332), 37-50.
Lafferty, K. D., Dobson, A. P., & Kuris, A. M.. (2006). Parasites dominate food web links. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(30), 11211-11216.
Lafferty, K. D., Hechinger, R. F., Shaw, J. C., Whitney, K. L., & Kuris, A. M. . (2006). Food webs and parasites in a salt marsh ecosystem. Disease ecology: community structure and pathogen dynamics, 119-134.
Goddard, J. H., Torchin, M. E., Kuris, A. M., & Lafferty, K. D.. (2005). Host specificity of Sacculina carcini, a potential biological control agent of the introduced European green crab Carcinus maenas in California. Biological Invasions, 7(6), 895-912.
Kuris, A. M. . (2005). Trophic transmission of parasites and host behavior modification. Behavioural Processes, 68(3), 215-217.
Lafferty, K. D., & Kuris, A. M.. (2005). Parasitism and environmental disturbances. Parasitism and ecosystems, 113-123.