Written by one of the leading authorities in the fast emerging new field of ecological immunology The first book to unify the fields of parasitology and immunology from an evolutionary ecology perspective, developing a conceptual framework for the resulting discipline as well as a future research agenda Provides exciting new views of host-pathogen relationships Ideal graduate seminar course material Parasites are everywhere, affecting almost every aspect imaginable in the life of their hosts including physiology, behaviour, life histories and, by implication, the structure of entire ecosystems. To cope with these constant threats, host immune defences have evolved to become one of the most sophisticated natural systems known. Despite this, parasites have found their own ways to overcome defences and exploit their hosts. Consequently, hosts and parasites have been constantly forced to adapt to one another; sometimes changes have occurred very rapidly, whilst others have taken eons. This evolutionary arms race has had far-reaching consequences for the biology of both parties.