Introduction: Ecological impact of parasitism on wildlife host populations

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Abstract
The study of parasite population dynamics has been one of the major developments in ecology over the last 15 years (Kennedy, 1975). The seminal articles of Crofton (1971) and Anderson & May (1978, 1979; May & Anderson, 1978, 1979) began this process by illustrating the potential role of parasites in regulating or destabilizing the dynamics of wildlife host populations. Since then, a variety of empirical and theoretical studies (reviewed by Grenfell & Dobson, 1995) have explored the role of parasites in natural populations. In parallel with these population dynamical developments, a growing interest in the evolutionary ecology of parasites has also led to a large literature, examining the evolutionary impact of parasites and the importance of host-parasite coevolution (Hamilton, 1982; May & Anderson, 1990; Lively & Apanius, 1995; Read et al. 1995; Herre, this volume).