Moderation Effects: How Body Length Modifies the Effect of Temperature on Parasite Abundance

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Abstract
Accurate testing and interpretation of interaction effects are essential for a robust understanding of the dynamics of biological systems. However, exclusive reliance on the statistical significance of the interaction term in regression models can lead to either an underestimation or an overestimation of interaction effects. Using empirical data of monogenean ectoparasite abundance in the Pacific so-iuy mullet host, Planiliza haematocheila (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845), we detected context-dependent patterns that standard coefficients failed to capture fully. Specifically, our findings suggest that the temperature–abundance relationship is not uniform across all body length–age classes but is modulated by host ontogeny/size, a pattern only resolved by explicitly evaluating conditional effects.

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