Sticklebacks as model hosts in ecological and evolutionary parasitology

• Sticklebacks are ideally suited for laboratory and field examination of host–parasite interactions.
• The use of sticklebacks as model hosts in ecological and evolutionary parasitology is reviewed.
• Stickleback studies have significantly informed the role of parasite in ecology and evolution.
• Ideas for future studies using sticklebacks as model hosts are provided.

The three-spined stickleback is a small teleost fish, native to coastal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, which has emerged as a key model organism in evolutionary biology and ecology. Sticklebacks possess a well-documented and experimentally amenable parasite fauna, and are well suited to both laboratory and field parasitological investigation. As a consequence, sticklebacks have been extensively used as model hosts in studies of host–parasite interactions, and these studies have provided considerable insight into the roles of parasites in ecology and evolutionary biology. In this review, I discuss key advances in our understanding of host–parasite interactions that have arisen from studies involving stickleback hosts, highlight areas of current research activity, and identify potentially promising areas for future research.