Ecology and management perspectives in arthropod–fungal associations

Fungal interactions with arthropods remain underexplored despite their abundance and ecological importance. Arthropod-associated fungal parasites and pathogens span a wide range of strategies in their interactions with hosts. At one end of the spectrum are obligate ectobionts and ectoparasites, such as the Laboulbeniales, which depend entirely on living hosts to complete their life cycle. At the other end, highly specialized entomopathogenic fungi, including Ophiocordyceps unilateralis and Pandora neoaphidis , kill their hosts to reproduce and disperse. Others, such as Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium brunneum , are more facultative and generalist, capable of infecting a broad range of hosts while also persisting as saprotrophs or endophytes in the absence of suitable hosts. These associations influence arthropod population dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem processes, while also offering opportunities for applied biological control. This chapter reviews current knowledge on fungal parasites and pathogens of arthropods. We discuss host dependence, specificity, and behavioral manipulation, and abiotic drivers shaping infection dynamics and fungal persistence. We also identify key research challenges, from clarifying lifestyle transitions to assessing community-level impacts, and propose interdisciplinary approaches to advance understanding. Together, these insights underscore the ecological and applied significance of arthropod–fungal associations. We hope that this review will encourage more researchers to engage with the rich and largely untapped diversity of arthropod–fungal associations.