101
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Westby KM, Sweetman BM, Van Horn TR, Biro EG, Medley KA. Invasive species reduces parasite prevalence and neutralizes negative environmental effects on parasitism in a native mosquito. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:1215-1225. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katie M. Westby
- Tyson Research Center Washington University in St. Louis Eureka Missouri
| | | | - Thomas R. Van Horn
- Tyson Research Center Washington University in St. Louis Eureka Missouri
| | - Elizabeth G. Biro
- Tyson Research Center Washington University in St. Louis Eureka Missouri
| | - Kim A. Medley
- Tyson Research Center Washington University in St. Louis Eureka Missouri
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102
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Abstract
Diseases spread by ticks are complex and typically come under the One Health approach because the implications for human, animal and environmental health are so intricately interconnected. In Europe and North America, these diseases, particularly the emblematic case of Lyme disease, are constantly on the rise. They are associated with a very strong emotional element in Western societies, where citizens are preoccupied by this upsurge and call on governments and health services to act. There is no vaccine against Lyme disease. This is the backdrop against which scientists are looking for alternative solutions based on the identification of ecological factors that are liable to better control tick populations and the movements of pathogens within ecosystems. This article describes the main knowledge already acquired about the ecology of Lyme disease and then provides a list of a number of instruments that can be leveraged to limit the risks and improve control.
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103
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Huang ZYX, Xu C, van Langevelde F, Ma Y, Langendoen T, Mundkur T, Si Y, Tian H, Kraus RHS, Gilbert M, Han G, Ji X, Prins HHT, de Boer WF. Contrasting effects of host species and phylogenetic diversity on the occurrence of HPAI H5N1 in European wild birds. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:1044-1053. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Y. X. Huang
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Normal University Nanjing China
- Resource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Chi Xu
- School of Life Sciences Nanjing University Nanjing China
| | - Frank van Langevelde
- Resource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
- School of Life Sciences Westville Campus, University of KwaZulu‐Natal Durban South Africa
| | - Yuying Ma
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Normal University Nanjing China
| | | | | | - Yali Si
- Resource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
- Department of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling Tsinghua University Beijing China
| | - Huaiyu Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, College of Global Change and Earth System Science Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Robert H. S. Kraus
- Department of Migration and Immuno‐Ecology Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Marius Gilbert
- Spatial Epidemiology Lab. (SpELL) Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
- Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique Brussels Belgium
| | - Guan‐Zhu Han
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Normal University Nanjing China
| | - Xiang Ji
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Normal University Nanjing China
| | | | - Willem F. de Boer
- Resource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
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104
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McMillan JR, Blakney RA, Mead DG, Koval WT, Coker SM, Waller LA, Kitron U, Vazquez‐Prokopec GM. Linking the vectorial capacity of multiple vectors to observed patterns of West Nile virus transmission. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R. McMillan
- Program in Population Biology, Ecology and EvolutionEmory University Atlanta Georgia
| | | | - Daniel G. Mead
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease StudyUniversity of Georgia Athens Georgia
| | - William T. Koval
- Department of Environmental SciencesEmory University Atlanta Georgia
| | - Sarah M. Coker
- Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease StudyUniversity of Georgia Athens Georgia
| | - Lance A. Waller
- Program in Population Biology, Ecology and EvolutionEmory University Atlanta Georgia
- Department of Biostatistics and BioinformaticsRollins School of Public HealthEmory University Atlanta Georgia
| | - Uriel Kitron
- Program in Population Biology, Ecology and EvolutionEmory University Atlanta Georgia
- Department of Environmental SciencesEmory University Atlanta Georgia
| | - Gonzalo M. Vazquez‐Prokopec
- Program in Population Biology, Ecology and EvolutionEmory University Atlanta Georgia
- Department of Environmental SciencesEmory University Atlanta Georgia
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105
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Abstract
Nonnative pests often cause cascading ecological impacts, leading to detrimental socioeconomic consequences; however, how plant diversity may influence insect and disease invasions remains unclear. High species diversity in host communities may promote pest invasions by providing more niches (i.e., facilitation), but it can also diminish invasion success because low host dominance may make it more difficult for pests to establish (i.e., dilution). Most studies to date have focused on small-scale, experimental, or individual pest/disease species, while large-scale empirical studies, especially in natural ecosystems, are extremely rare. Using subcontinental-level data, we examined the role of tree diversity on pest invasion across the conterminous United States and found that the tree-pest diversity relationships are hump-shaped. Pest diversity increases with tree diversity at low tree diversity (because of facilitation or amplification) and is reduced at higher tree diversity (as a result of dilution). Thus, tree diversity likely regulates forest pest invasion through both facilitation and dilution that operate simultaneously, but their relative strengths vary with overall diversity. Our findings suggest the role of native species diversity in regulating nonnative pest invasions.
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106
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Ma ZS, Li L, Gotelli NJ. Diversity-disease relationships and shared species analyses for human microbiome-associated diseases. ISME JOURNAL 2019; 13:1911-1919. [PMID: 30894688 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-019-0395-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2018] [Revised: 02/24/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Diversity indices have been routinely computed in the study of human microbiome-associated diseases (MADs). However, it is still unclear whether there is a consistent diversity-disease relationship (DDR) for the human MADs, and whether there are consistent differences in the taxonomic composition of microbiomes sampled from healthy versus diseased individuals. Here we reanalyzed raw data and used a meta-analysis to compare the microbiome diversity and composition of healthy versus diseased individuals in 41 comparisons extracted from 27 previously published studies of human MADs. In the DDR analysis, the average effect size across studies did not differ from zero for a comparison of healthy versus diseased individuals. In 30 of 41 comparisons (73%) there was no significant difference in microbiome diversity of healthy versus diseased individuals, or of different disease classes. For the species composition analysis (shared species analysis), the effect sizes were significantly different from zero. In 33 of 41 comparisons (80%), there were fewer OTUs (operational taxonomic units) shared between healthy and diseased individuals than expected by chance, but with 49% (20 of 41 comparisons) statistically significant. These results imply that the taxonomic composition of disease-associated microbiomes is often distinct from that of healthy individuals. Because species composition changes with disease state, some microbiome OTUs may serve as potential diagnostic indicators of disease. However, the overall species diversity of human microbiomes is not a reliable indicator of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanshan Sam Ma
- Computational Biology and Medical Ecology Lab, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China. .,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China.
| | - Lianwei Li
- Computational Biology and Medical Ecology Lab, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China
| | - Nicholas J Gotelli
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont Burlington, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA.
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107
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Wang YXG, Matson KD, Prins HHT, Gort G, Awada L, Huang ZYX, Boer WF. Phylogenetic structure of wildlife assemblages shapes patterns of infectious livestock diseases in Africa. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yingying X. G. Wang
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Normal University Nanjing China
- Resource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Kevin D. Matson
- Resource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
| | | | - Gerrit Gort
- Biometris, Plant Sciences Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Lina Awada
- Animal Health Information Department World Organisation for Animal Health Paris France
| | - Zheng Y. X. Huang
- College of Life Sciences Nanjing Normal University Nanjing China
- Resource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Willem F. Boer
- Resource Ecology Group Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
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108
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Johnson PTJ, Calhoun DM, Riepe TB, Koprivnikar J. Chance or choice? Understanding parasite selection and infection in multi-host communities. Int J Parasitol 2019; 49:407-415. [PMID: 30894285 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2018.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Revised: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing debate over the relationship between biodiversity and disease risk underscores the need to develop a more mechanistic understanding of how changes in host community composition influence parasite transmission, particularly in complex communities with multiple hosts. A key challenge involves determining how motile parasites select among potential hosts and the degree to which this process shifts with community composition. Focusing on interactions between larval amphibians and the pathogenic trematode Ribeiroia ondatrae, we designed a novel, large-volume set of choice chambers to assess how the selectivity of free-swimming infectious parasites varied among five host species and in response to changes in assemblage composition (four different permutations). In a second set of trials, cercariae were allowed to contact and infect hosts, allowing comparison of host-parasite encounter rates (parasite choice) with infection outcomes (successful infections). Cercariae exhibited consistent preferences for specific host species that were independent of the community context; large-bodied amphibians, such as larval bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana), exhibited the highest level of parasite attraction. However, because host attractiveness was decoupled from susceptibility to infection, assemblage composition sharply affected both per-host infection as well as total infection (summed among co-occurring hosts). Species such as the non-native R. catesbeiana functioned as epidemiological 'sinks' or dilution hosts, attracting a disproportionate fraction of parasites relative to the number that established successfully, whereas Taricha granulosa and especially Pseudacris regilla supported comparatively more metacercariae relative to cercariae selection. These findings provide a framework for integrating information on parasite preference in combination with more traditional factors such as host competence and density to forecast how changes within complex communities will affect parasite transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieter T J Johnson
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
| | - Dana M Calhoun
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Tawni B Riepe
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Janet Koprivnikar
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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109
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Willig MR, Presley SJ, Plante JL, Bloch CP, Solari S, Pacheco V, Weaver SC. Guild-level responses of bats to habitat conversion in a lowland Amazonian rainforest: species composition and biodiversity. J Mammal 2019; 100:223-238. [PMID: 30846887 PMCID: PMC6394116 DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Landscape modification represents one of the most severe threats to biodiversity from local to global scales. Conversion of forest to agricultural production generally results in patches of habitat that subdivide or isolate populations, alter the behavior of species, modify interspecific interactions, reduce biodiversity, and compromise ecosystem processes. Moreover, conversion may increase exposure of humans to zoonoses to which they would otherwise rarely be exposed. We evaluated the effects of forest conversion to agriculture, and its subsequent successional dynamics, on bat communities in a region of the Amazon that was predominantly closed-canopy rainforest. Based on a nonmanipulative experiment, we quantified differences in species composition, community structure, and taxonomic biodiversity among closed-canopy forest (bosque), agricultural lands (chacra), and secondary forest (purma) for two phyllostomid guilds (frugivores and gleaning animalivores) during the wet and dry seasons. Responses were complex and guild-specific. For frugivores, species composition (species abundance distributions) differed between all possible pairs of habitats in both wet and dry seasons. For gleaning animalivores, species composition differed between all possible pairs of habitats in the dry season, but no differences characterized the wet season. Ecological structure (rank abundance distributions) differed among habitats in guild-specific and season-specific manners. For frugivores, mean diversity, evenness, and dominance were greater in bosque than in purma; mean dominance was greater in bosque than in chacra, but local rarity was greater in chacra than in bosque, and no differences were manifest between purma and chacra. For gleaning animalivores, mean diversity and evenness were greater in bosque than in purma, but no differences were manifest between chacra and bosque, or between purma and chacra. Such results have important implications for management, conservation, and the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases. La actual modificación del paisaje, a escalas que van de lo local a lo global, es una de las amenazas más severas a la biodiversidad. De manera general, la conversión de bosques a áreas agrícolas produce parches de hábitat que subdividen o aíslan poblaciones, alteran la conducta de las especies, modifican las interacciones interespecíficas, reducen la biodiversidad y comprometen las funciones de los ecosistemas. Más aún, la transformación de estos ambientes puede incrementar la probabilidad de que las poblaciones humanas interactúen con zoonosis con las que de otra manera raramente entrarían en contacto. Evaluamos los efectos de la conversión de hábitat en comunidades de murciélagos en una región de Amazonia en la que la vegetación dominante es un bosque lluvioso de copas cerradas, y en la cual los efectos de la conversión a usos agrícolas sobre la biodiversidad, y la subsecuente dinámica sucesional, son aún poco comprendidos. Por medio de un experimento no-manipulativo, cuantificamos las diferencias en composición de especies, estructura de la comunidad y diversidad taxonómica entre bosque cerrado (bosque), áreas agrícolas (chacra) y bosque secundario (purma) para dos gremios tróficos de murciélagos filostómidos (frugívoros y forrajeadores de sustrato) durante dos temporadas (secas y lluvias). Las respuestas fueron complejas y diferentes para cada gremio. Para los frugívoros, la composición de especies (distribución de las abundancias) fue diferente para todos los posibles pares de hábitats tanto para secas como para lluvias. Para los forrajeadores de sustrato, la composición de especies difirió entre todos los posibles pares de hábitats en la temporada seca, pero no en la de lluvias. La estructura ecológica (distribuciones rango-abundancia) fue también específica para gremios y temporadas. Para los frugívoros, la diversidad promedio, equidad y dominancia fueron mayores en bosque que en purma; la dominancia promedio fue mayor en bosque que en chacra, pero la rareza local fue mayor en chacra que en bosque, y no se encontraron diferencias entre purma y chacra. Para los forrajeadores de sustrato, la diversidad promedio y la dominancia fueron mayores en bosque que en purma, pero no se detectaron diferencias entre chacra y bosque, o entre purma y chacra. Estos resultados tienen importantes implicaciones para el manejo, conservación y epidemiología de zoonosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Willig
- Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Steven J Presley
- Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Jean-Luc Plante
- Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Christopher P Bloch
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA, USA
| | - Sergio Solari
- Grupo Mastozoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
| | - Victor Pacheco
- Departamento de Mastozooloía, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima-14, Perú
| | - Scott C Weaver
- Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, Center for Tropical Diseases, and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
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110
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Biodiversity enhances coral growth, tissue survivorship and suppression of macroalgae. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:178-182. [PMID: 30617344 PMCID: PMC6353673 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0752-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Coral reefs are declining dramatically and losing species richness, but the impact of declining biodiversity on coral well-being remains inadequately understood. Here, we demonstrate that lower coral species richness alone can suppress growth and survivorship of multiple species of corals (Porites cylindrica, Pocillopora damicornis, and Acropora millepora) under field conditions on a degraded, macroalgal dominated reef. Our findings highlight the positive role of biodiversity in the function of coral reefs, and suggest that loss of coral species richness may trigger a negative feedback that causes further ecosystem decline.
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111
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Halliday FW, Heckman RW, Wilfahrt PA, Mitchell CE. Past is prologue: host community assembly and the risk of infectious disease over time. Ecol Lett 2018; 22:138-148. [PMID: 30403005 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2018] [Revised: 09/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Infectious disease risk is often influenced by host diversity, but the causes are unresolved. Changes in diversity are associated with changes in community structure, particularly during community assembly; therefore, by incorporating change over time, host community assembly may provide a framework to resolve causation. In turn, community assembly can be driven by many processes, including resource enrichment. To test the hypothesis that community assembly causally links host diversity to future disease, we experimentally manipulated host diversity and resource supply to hosts, then allowed communities to assemble for 2 years (surveyed 2012-2014). Initially, host diversity increased disease. Subsequently, host diversity did not directly alter disease. However, host diversity determined the trajectory of host community assembly, altering colonisation by exotic host species and richness-independent host phylogenetic diversity, which together reversed the initial increase in disease. Ultimately, incorporating the temporal dimension of community assembly revealed novel mechanisms linking host diversity to future disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fletcher W Halliday
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Robert W Heckman
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Peter A Wilfahrt
- Environment, Ecology and Energy Program, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Charles E Mitchell
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.,Environment, Ecology and Energy Program, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
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112
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Vielma S, Lagrue C, Poulin R, Selbach C. Non-host organisms impact transmission at two different life stages in a marine parasite. Parasitol Res 2018; 118:111-117. [PMID: 30343421 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-018-6121-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The potential for local biodiversity to 'dilute' infection risk has been shown to be particularly important in aquatic trematodes, where non-host organisms can feed on free-living infective stages (cercariae) and reduce transmission rates to target hosts. Non-host organisms could also impact transmission during other stages of the trematode life cycle. In Philophthalmus spp., cercariae encyst as metacercariae on external surfaces, where they remain exposed to the adverse effects of non-host organisms. In laboratory experiments, we tested the potential for a range of non-host organisms to (i) prey on cercariae, (ii) induce early (i.e., faster) encystment and (iii) prey on or destroy metacercariae. Our results show that intertidal anemones, and to a lesser extent clams, can consume substantial numbers of cercariae. However, we found no strong evidence that the presence of these predators causes cercariae to encyst faster as a way to escape from predation. We also found that grazing snails can reduce numbers of encysted metacercariae, either by eating or crushing them. Our findings add to the growing evidence that trematode transmission success can be strongly affected by the local diversity of non-host organisms. They also reinforce the notion that parasites are potentially important food items for many organisms, thus playing roles other than consumers in many food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Vielma
- Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Clément Lagrue
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Robert Poulin
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Christian Selbach
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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113
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Identifying management-relevant research priorities for responding to disease-associated amphibian declines. Glob Ecol Conserv 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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114
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Peters DPC, Burruss ND, Rodriguez LL, McVey DS, Elias EH, Pelzel-McCluskey AM, Derner JD, Schrader TS, Yao J, Pauszek SJ, Lombard J, Archer SR, Bestelmeyer BT, Browning DM, Brungard CW, Hatfield JL, Hanan NP, Herrick JE, Okin GS, Sala OE, Savoy H, Vivoni ER. An Integrated View of Complex Landscapes: A Big Data-Model Integration Approach to Transdisciplinary Science. Bioscience 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biy069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Debra P C Peters
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - N Dylan Burruss
- New Mexico State University, Jornada Experimental Range Unit, and Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Luis L Rodriguez
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, in Orient Point, New York
| | - D Scott McVey
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, in Manhattan, Kansas
| | - Emile H Elias
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Angela M Pelzel-McCluskey
- US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, in Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Justin D Derner
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit, in Cheyenne, Wyoming
| | - T Scott Schrader
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Jin Yao
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Steven J Pauszek
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, in Orient Point, New York
| | - Jason Lombard
- US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, in Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Steven R Archer
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona, in Tucson
| | - Brandon T Bestelmeyer
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Dawn M Browning
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Colby W Brungard
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces
| | - Jerry L Hatfield
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, in Ames, Iowa
| | - Niall P Hanan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces
| | - Jeffrey E Herrick
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Gregory S Okin
- Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Osvaldo E Sala
- School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, in Tempe
| | - Heather Savoy
- New Mexico State University, Jornada Experimental Range Unit, and Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Enrique R Vivoni
- School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University, in Tempe
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115
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Aerts R, Honnay O, Van Nieuwenhuyse A. Biodiversity and human health: mechanisms and evidence of the positive health effects of diversity in nature and green spaces. Br Med Bull 2018; 127:5-22. [PMID: 30007287 DOI: 10.1093/bmb/ldy021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Natural environments and green spaces provide ecosystem services that enhance human health and well-being. They improve mental health, mitigate allergies and reduce all-cause, respiratory, cardiovascular and cancer mortality. The presence, accessibility, proximity and greenness of green spaces determine the magnitude of their positive health effects, but the role of biodiversity (including species and ecosystem diversity) within green spaces remains underexplored. This review describes mechanisms and evidence of effects of biodiversity in nature and green spaces on human health. SOURCES OF DATA We identified studies listed in PubMed and Web of Science using combinations of keywords including 'biodiversity', 'diversity', 'species richness', 'human health', 'mental health' and 'well-being' with no restrictions on the year of publication. Papers were considered for detailed evaluation if they were written in English and reported data on levels of biodiversity and health outcomes. AREAS OF AGREEMENT There is evidence for positive associations between species diversity and well-being (psychological and physical) and between ecosystem diversity and immune system regulation. AREAS OF CONCERN There is a very limited number of studies that relate measured biodiversity to human health. There is more evidence for self-reported psychological well-being than for well-defined clinical outcomes. High species diversity has been associated with both reduced and increased vector-borne disease risk. GROWING POINTS Biodiversity supports ecosystem services mitigating heat, noise and air pollution, which all mediate the positive health effects of green spaces, but direct and long-term health outcomes of species diversity have been insufficiently studied so far. AREAS TIMELY FOR RESEARCH Additional research and newly developed methods are needed to quantify short- and long-term health effects of exposure to perceived and objectively measured species diversity, including health effects of nature-based solutions and exposure to microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raf Aerts
- Department of Chemical and Physical Health Risks, Unit Health Impact Assessment, Sciensano (Belgian Institute of Health), Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Biology, Division Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Olivier Honnay
- Department of Biology, Division Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - An Van Nieuwenhuyse
- Department of Chemical and Physical Health Risks, Unit Health Impact Assessment, Sciensano (Belgian Institute of Health), Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Division Environment and Health, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
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116
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McMahon BJ, Morand S, Gray JS. Ecosystem change and zoonoses in the Anthropocene. Zoonoses Public Health 2018; 65:755-765. [PMID: 30105852 DOI: 10.1111/zph.12489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Changes in land use, animal populations and climate, primarily due to increasing human populations, drive the emergence of zoonoses. Force of infection (FOI), which for these diseases is a measure of the ease with which a pathogen reaches the human population, can change with specific zoonoses and context. Here, we outline three ecosystem categories-domestic, peridomestic and sylvatic, where disease ecology alters the FOI of specific zoonoses. Human intervention is an overriding effect in the emergence of zoonoses; therefore, we need to understand the disease ecology and other influencing factors of pathogens and parasites that are likely to interact differently within ecological and cultural contexts. Planning for One Health and community ecology, such as an ecological impact assessment, is required to prepare and manage the emergence and impact of zoonoses in the Anthropocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry J McMahon
- UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Serge Morand
- CNRS - CIRAD ASTRE, Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Jeremy S Gray
- UCD School of Biology & Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
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117
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Species diversity concurrently dilutes and amplifies transmission in a zoonotic host-pathogen system through competing mechanisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:7979-7984. [PMID: 30012590 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1807106115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In this era of unprecedented biodiversity loss and increased zoonotic disease emergence, it is imperative to understand the effects of biodiversity on zoonotic pathogen dynamics in wildlife. Whether increasing biodiversity should lead to a decrease or increase in infection prevalence, termed the dilution and amplification effects, respectively, has been hotly debated in disease ecology. Sin Nombre hantavirus, which has an ∼35% mortality rate when it spills over into humans, occurs at a lower prevalence in the reservoir host, the North American deermouse, in areas with higher small mammal diversity-a dilution effect. However, the mechanism driving this relationship is not understood. Using a mechanistic mathematical model of infection dynamics and a unique long-term, high-resolution, multisite dataset, it appears that the observed dilution effect is a result of increasing small-mammal diversity leading to decreased deermouse population density and, subsequently, prevalence (a result of density-dependent transmission). However, once density is taken into account, there is an increase in the transmission rate at sites with higher diversity-a component amplification effect. Therefore, dilution and amplification are occurring at the same time in the same host-pathogen system; there is a component amplification effect (increase in transmission rate), but overall a net dilution because the effect of diversity on reservoir host population density is stronger. These results suggest we should focus on how biodiversity affects individual mechanisms that drive prevalence and their relative strengths if we want to make generalizable predictions across host-pathogen systems.
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118
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McLeish M, Sacristán S, Fraile A, García-Arenal F. Scale dependencies and generalism in host use shape virus prevalence. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.2066. [PMID: 29263286 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Processes that generate the distribution of pathogens and their interactions with hosts are not insensitive to changes in spatial scale. Spatial scales and species traits are often selected intentionally, based on practical considerations, ignoring biases that the scale and type of observation may introduce. Specifically, these biases might change the interpretation of disease-diversity relationships that are reported as either 'dilution' or 'amplification' effects. Here, we combine field data of a host-pathogen community with empirical models to test the effects that (i) spatial scale and (ii) host range have on the relationship between plant-virus infection prevalence and diversity. We show that prevalence-diversity relationships are scale-dependent and can produce opposite effects associated with different habitats at sub-ecosystem scales. The total number of host species of each virus reflected generalism at the ecosystem scale. However, plasticity in host range resembled habitat-specific specialization and also changed model predictions. We show that habitat heterogeneity, ignored at larger (ecosystem) spatial scales, influences pathogen distributions. Hence, understanding disease distributions and the evolution of pathogens requires reconciling specific hypotheses of the study with an appropriate spatial scale, or scales, and consideration of traits, such as host range, that might strongly contribute to biotic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael McLeish
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas UPM-INIA and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Agroambiental y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid 28223, Spain
| | - Soledad Sacristán
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas UPM-INIA and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Agroambiental y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid 28223, Spain
| | - Aurora Fraile
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas UPM-INIA and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Agroambiental y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid 28223, Spain
| | - Fernando García-Arenal
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas UPM-INIA and Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Agroambiental y de Biosistemas (ETSIAAB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid 28223, Spain
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119
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Beukema W, Martel A, Nguyen TT, Goka K, Schmeller DS, Yuan Z, Laking AE, Nguyen TQ, Lin CF, Shelton J, Loyau A, Pasmans F. Environmental context and differences between native and invasive observed niches of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans
affect invasion risk assessments in the Western Palaearctic. DIVERS DISTRIB 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Wouter Beukema
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Ghent University; Merelbeke Belgium
| | - An Martel
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Ghent University; Merelbeke Belgium
| | - Tao Thien Nguyen
- Vietnam National Museum of Nature; Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology; Cau Giay Hanoi Vietnam
| | - Koichi Goka
- National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES); Tsukuba Ibaraki Japan
| | - Dirk S. Schmeller
- Department of Conservation Biology; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ; Leipzig Germany
- EcoLab; CNRS; INPT; UPS; Université de Toulouse; Toulouse France
| | - Zhiyong Yuan
- College of Forestry; Southwest Forestry University; Kunming Yunnan China
| | - Alexandra E. Laking
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Ghent University; Merelbeke Belgium
| | - Truong Quang Nguyen
- Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources; Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology; Cau Giay Hanoi Vietnam
| | - Chun-Fu Lin
- Zoology Division; Endemic Species Research Institute; Jiji Nantou Taiwan
| | - Jennifer Shelton
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology; Imperial College London; London UK
| | - Adeline Loyau
- Department of Conservation Biology; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ; Leipzig Germany
- EcoLab; CNRS; INPT; UPS; Université de Toulouse; Toulouse France
| | - Frank Pasmans
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Ghent University; Merelbeke Belgium
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120
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Tornabene BJ, Blaustein AR, Briggs CJ, Calhoun DM, Johnson PTJ, McDevitt-Galles T, Rohr JR, Hoverman JT. The influence of landscape and environmental factors on ranavirus epidemiology in a California amphibian assemblage. FRESHWATER BIOLOGY 2018; 63:639-651. [PMID: 30127540 PMCID: PMC6097636 DOI: 10.1111/fwb.13100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental goal of disease ecology is to determine the landscape and environmental processes that drive disease dynamics at different biological levels to guide management and conservation. Although ranaviruses (family Iridoviridae) are emerging amphibian pathogens, few studies have conducted comprehensive field surveys to assess potential drivers of ranavirus disease dynamics.We examined the factors underlying patterns in site-level ranavirus presence and individual-level ranavirus infection in 76 ponds and 1,088 individuals representing 5 amphibian species within the East Bay region of California.Based on a competing-model approach followed by variance partitioning, landscape and biotic variables explained the most variation in site-level presence. However, biotic and individual-level variables explained the most variation in individual-level infection.Distance to nearest ranavirus-infected pond (the landscape factor) was more important than biotic factors at the site-level; however, biotic factors were most influential at the individual-level. At the site level, the probability of ranavirus presence correlated negatively with distance to nearest ranavirus-positive pond, suggesting that the movement of water or mobile taxa (e.g., adult amphibians, birds, reptiles) may facilitate the movement of ranavirus between ponds and across the landscape.Taxonomic richness associated positively with ranavirus presence at the site-level, but vertebrate richness associated negatively with infection prevalence in the host population. This might reflect the contrasting influences of diversity on pathogen colonization versus transmission among hosts.Amphibian host species differed in their likelihood of ranavirus infection: American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) had the weakest association with infection while rough-skinned newts (Taricha granulosa) had the strongest. After accounting for host species effects, hosts with greater snout-vent length had a lower probability of infection.Our study demonstrates the array of landscape, environmental, and individual-level factors associated with ranavirus epidemiology. Moreover, our study helps illustrate that the importance of these factors varies with biological level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian J Tornabene
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2061
| | - Andrew R Blaustein
- Integrative Biology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-2914
| | - Cheryl J Briggs
- Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9610
| | - Dana M Calhoun
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0334
| | - Pieter T J Johnson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0334
| | - Travis McDevitt-Galles
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0334
| | - Jason R Rohr
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
| | - Jason T Hoverman
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2061
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121
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Wells K, Gibson DI, Clark NJ, Ribas A, Morand S, McCallum HI. Global spread of helminth parasites at the human-domestic animal-wildlife interface. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:3254-3265. [PMID: 29436086 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Revised: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Changes in species distributions open novel parasite transmission routes at the human-wildlife interface, yet the strength of biotic and biogeographical factors that prevent or facilitate parasite host shifting are not well understood. We investigated global patterns of helminth parasite (Nematoda, Cestoda, Trematoda) sharing between mammalian wildlife species and domestic mammal hosts (including humans) using >24,000 unique country-level records of host-parasite associations. We used hierarchical modelling and species trait data to determine possible drivers of the level of parasite sharing between wildlife species and either humans or domestic animal hosts. We found the diet of wildlife species to be a strong predictor of levels of helminth parasite sharing with humans and domestic animals, followed by a moderate effect of zoogeographical region and minor effects of species' habitat and climatic niches. Combining model predictions with the distribution and ecological profile data of wildlife species, we projected global risk maps that uncovered strikingly similar patterns of wildlife parasite sharing across geographical areas for the different domestic host species (including humans). These similarities are largely explained by the fact that widespread parasites are commonly recorded infecting several domestic species. If the dietary profile and position in the trophic chain of a wildlife species largely drives its level of helminth parasite sharing with humans/domestic animals, future range shifts of host species that result in novel trophic interactions may likely increase parasite host shifting and have important ramifications for human and animal health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstans Wells
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - David I Gibson
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Nicholas J Clark
- School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD, Australia
| | - Alexis Ribas
- Department of Biology, Healthcare and the Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Serge Morand
- CIRAD ASTRE, CNRS ISEM, Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Hamish I McCallum
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
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122
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Lachish S, Murray KA. The Certainty of Uncertainty: Potential Sources of Bias and Imprecision in Disease Ecology Studies. Front Vet Sci 2018; 5:90. [PMID: 29872662 PMCID: PMC5972326 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Wildlife diseases have important implications for wildlife and human health, the preservation of biodiversity and the resilience of ecosystems. However, understanding disease dynamics and the impacts of pathogens in wild populations is challenging because these complex systems can rarely, if ever, be observed without error. Uncertainty in disease ecology studies is commonly defined in terms of either heterogeneity in detectability (due to variation in the probability of encountering, capturing, or detecting individuals in their natural habitat) or uncertainty in disease state assignment (due to misclassification errors or incomplete information). In reality, however, uncertainty in disease ecology studies extends beyond these components of observation error and can arise from multiple varied processes, each of which can lead to bias and a lack of precision in parameter estimates. Here, we present an inventory of the sources of potential uncertainty in studies that attempt to quantify disease-relevant parameters from wild populations (e.g., prevalence, incidence, transmission rates, force of infection, risk of infection, persistence times, and disease-induced impacts). We show that uncertainty can arise via processes pertaining to aspects of the disease system, the study design, the methods used to study the system, and the state of knowledge of the system, and that uncertainties generated via one process can propagate through to others because of interactions between the numerous biological, methodological and environmental factors at play. We show that many of these sources of uncertainty may not be immediately apparent to researchers (for example, unidentified crypticity among vectors, hosts or pathogens, a mismatch between the temporal scale of sampling and disease dynamics, demographic or social misclassification), and thus have received comparatively little consideration in the literature to date. Finally, we discuss the type of bias or imprecision introduced by these varied sources of uncertainty and briefly present appropriate sampling and analytical methods to account for, or minimise, their influence on estimates of disease-relevant parameters. This review should assist researchers and practitioners to navigate the pitfalls of uncertainty in wildlife disease ecology studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelly Lachish
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Kris A. Murray
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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123
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Halliday FW, Heckman RW, Wilfahrt PA, Mitchell CE. A multivariate test of disease risk reveals conditions leading to disease amplification. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1340. [PMID: 29046374 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Accepted: 09/14/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Theory predicts that increasing biodiversity will dilute the risk of infectious diseases under certain conditions and will amplify disease risk under others. Yet, few empirical studies demonstrate amplification. This contrast may occur because few studies have considered the multivariate nature of disease risk, which includes richness and abundance of parasites with different transmission modes. By combining a multivariate statistical model developed for biodiversity-ecosystem-multifunctionality with an extensive field manipulation of host (plant) richness, composition and resource supply to hosts, we reveal that (i) host richness alone could not explain most changes in disease risk, and (ii) shifting host composition allowed disease amplification, depending on parasite transmission mode. Specifically, as predicted from theory, the effect of host diversity on parasite abundance differed for microbes (more density-dependent transmission) and insects (more frequency-dependent transmission). Host diversity did not influence microbial parasite abundance, but nearly doubled insect parasite abundance, and this amplification effect was attributable to variation in host composition. Parasite richness was reduced by resource addition, but only in species-rich host communities. Overall, this study demonstrates that multiple drivers, related to both host community and parasite characteristics, can influence disease risk. Furthermore, it provides a framework for evaluating multivariate disease risk in other systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fletcher W Halliday
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Robert W Heckman
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Peter A Wilfahrt
- Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Charles E Mitchell
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.,Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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124
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McLeish MJ, Fraile A, García-Arenal F. Ecological Complexity in Plant Virus Host Range Evolution. Adv Virus Res 2018; 101:293-339. [PMID: 29908592 DOI: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2018.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The host range of a plant virus is the number of species in which it can reproduce. Most studies of plant virus host range evolution have focused on the genetics of host-pathogen interactions. However, the distribution and abundance of plant viruses and their hosts do not always overlap, and these spatial and temporal discontinuities in plant virus-host interactions can result in various ecological processes that shape host range evolution. Recent work shows that the distributions of pathogenic and resistant genotypes, vectors, and other resources supporting transmission vary widely in the environment, producing both expected and unanticipated patterns. The distributions of all of these factors are influenced further by competitive effects, natural enemies, anthropogenic disturbance, the abiotic environment, and herbivory to mention some. We suggest the need for further development of approaches that (i) explicitly consider resource use and the abiotic and biotic factors that affect the strategies by which viruses exploit resources; and (ii) are sensitive across scales. Host range and habitat specificity will largely determine which phyla are most likely to be new hosts, but predicting which host and when it is likely to be infected is enormously challenging because it is unclear how environmental heterogeneity affects the interactions of viruses and hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J McLeish
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas UPM-INIA, and E.T.S.I. Agrícola, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Aurora Fraile
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas UPM-INIA, and E.T.S.I. Agrícola, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando García-Arenal
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas UPM-INIA, and E.T.S.I. Agrícola, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
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125
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Ferraguti M, Martínez-de la Puente J, Bensch S, Roiz D, Ruiz S, Viana DS, Soriguer RC, Figuerola J. Ecological determinants of avian malaria infections: An integrative analysis at landscape, mosquito and vertebrate community levels. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:727-740. [PMID: 29495129 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Vector and host communities, as well as habitat characteristics, may have important but different impacts on the prevalence, richness and evenness of vector-borne parasites. We investigated the relative importance of (1) the mosquito community composition, (2) the vertebrate community composition and (3) landscape characteristics on the prevalence, richness and evenness of avian Plasmodium. We hypothesized that parasite prevalence will be more affected by vector-related parameters, while host parameters should be also important to explain Plasmodium richness and evenness. We sampled 2,588 wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and 340,829 mosquitoes, and we performed vertebrate censuses at 45 localities in the Southwest of Spain. These localities included urban, rural and natural landscapes that were characterized by several habitat variables. Twelve Plasmodium lineages were identified in house sparrows corresponding to three major clades. Variation partitioning showed that landscape characteristics explained the highest fraction of variation in all response variables (21.0%-44.8%). Plasmodium prevalence was in addition explained by vector-related variables (5.4%) and its interaction with landscape (10.2%). Parasite richness and evenness were mostly explained by vertebrate community-related variables. The structuring role of landscape characteristics in vector and host communities was a key factor in determining parasite prevalence, richness and evenness, although the role of each factor differed according to the parasite parameters studied. These results show that the biotic and abiotic contexts are important to explain the transmission dynamics of mosquito-borne pathogens in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Ferraguti
- Departamento de Ecología de Humedales, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Josué Martínez-de la Puente
- Departamento de Ecología de Humedales, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - David Roiz
- Departamento de Ecología de Humedales, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Santigo Ruiz
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.,Diputación de Huelva, Área de Medio Ambiente, Servicio de Control de Mosquitos, Huelva, Spain
| | - Duarte S Viana
- Departamento de Ecología de Humedales, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Ramón C Soriguer
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Etología y Conservación de la Biodiversidad, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Jordi Figuerola
- Departamento de Ecología de Humedales, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
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126
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Liu X, Chen F, Lyu S, Sun D, Zhou S. Random species loss underestimates dilution effects of host diversity on foliar fungal diseases under fertilization. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:1705-1713. [PMID: 29435245 PMCID: PMC5792568 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2017] [Revised: 10/30/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
With increasing attention being paid to the consequences of global biodiversity losses, several recent studies have demonstrated that realistic species losses can have larger impacts than random species losses on community productivity and resilience. However, little is known about the effects of the order in which species are lost on biodiversity-disease relationships. Using a multiyear nitrogen addition and artificial warming experiment in natural assemblages of alpine meadow vegetation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, we inferred the sequence of plant species losses under fertilization/warming. Then the sequence of species losses under fertilization/warming was used to simulate the species loss orders (both realistic and random) in an adjacently novel removal experiment manipulating plot-level plant diversity. We explicitly compared the effect sizes of random versus realistic species losses simulated from fertilization/warming on plant foliar fungal diseases. We found that realistic species losses simulated from fertilization had greater effects than random losses on fungal diseases, and that species identity drove the diversity-disease relationship. Moreover, the plant species most prone to foliar fungal diseases were also the least vulnerable to extinction under fertilization, demonstrating the importance of protecting low competence species (the ability to maintain and transmit fungal infections was low) to impede the spread of infectious disease. In contrast, there was no difference between random and realistic species loss scenarios simulated from experimental warming (or the combination of warming and fertilization) on the diversity-disease relationship, indicating that the functional consequences of species losses may vary under different drivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource EcologyBeijing Normal UniversityBeijingChina
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological EngineeringSchool of Life SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Fei Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological EngineeringSchool of Life SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Shengman Lyu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological EngineeringSchool of Life SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Dexin Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological EngineeringSchool of Life SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Shurong Zhou
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological EngineeringSchool of Life SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
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127
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Guo LN, Li Y, Hsueh PR, Wang P, Zhao YP, Xu YC. Microbiological characteristics of a novel species most closely related to 'Bergeyella cardium' as a pathogen of infectious endocarditis. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0191715. [PMID: 29370239 PMCID: PMC5784969 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Infectious endocarditis (IE) can be caused by various pathogens, from dominating agents such as viridans group streptococci and staphylococci to rare species that are less virulent and not typically considered to be pathogens. In this study, we have isolated a novel species from a patient with problem of IE which was genetically most closely related to 'Bergeyella cardium', a causative pathogen of IE first reported in Korea in 2015 as a new species of the genus Bergeyella, with a similarity of 98.8% in 16S rRNA sequences. Microbiological characteristics, including morphology, biochemical identification and antimicrobial susceptibility profiling, of this novel species were determined. This fastidious Gram-negative bacillus could only be identified successfully by molecular sequencing analysis at present, and it exhibited low minimum inhibitory concentrations to the antibiotics tested except for aminoglycosides. Phylogeny analysis revealed this novel species clustered well with 'B. cardium' and other close species of genus Bergeyella.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Na Guo
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Po-Ren Hsueh
- Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Peng Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Pei Zhao
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: (YCX); (YPZ)
| | - Ying-Chun Xu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: (YCX); (YPZ)
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128
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Hantaviruses and a neglected environmental determinant. One Health 2018; 5:27-33. [PMID: 29911161 PMCID: PMC6000911 DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2017.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Most human pathogenic hantaviruses cause severe hemorrhagic fevers with a high rate of fatalities, such as occurs due to the genotypes causing hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome carried by the New World Sigmodontinae and Neotominae rodents. An increasing number of outbreaks and the possibility of cases spreading over international borders have led to greater interest in these viruses and the environmental determinants that facilitate their transmission. Rodents, shrews, moles and bats act as reservoir hosts of hantaviruses, and within the hantavirus transmission flow, the prevalence and distribution of infection in reservoir hosts is influenced by a range of factors. Climate change and landscape alteration affect hantavirus transmission, but the outcomes can differ among different hantaviruses and for the same virus in differentbiomes. However, it is evident that the underlying mechanisms that mediate hantavirus transmission are largely unknown, so that much work remains to be done regarding the transmission dynamics of hantaviruses. Overall, our review highlights the importance of examining interactions over several trophic levels and the underlying mechanisms (density and trait-mediated indirect effects) linking predation risk and hantavirus transmission, to develop an ecological framework to understand disease in natural, preserved and degraded systems.
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129
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Is species richness driving intra- and interspecific interactions and temporal activity overlap of a hantavirus host? An experimental test. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0188060. [PMID: 29141047 PMCID: PMC5687724 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 10/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
High species diversity of the potential animal host community for a zoonotic pathogen may reduce pathogen transmission among the most competent host, a phenomenon called the “dilution effect”, but the mechanisms driving this effect have been little studied. One proposed mechanism is “encounter reduction” where host species of low-competency decrease contact rates between infected and susceptible competent hosts, especially in directly transmitted diseases. We conducted an experiment in outdoor enclosures in northwestern Mexico where we manipulated rodent assemblages to assess the effect of species richness on the frequency of intra- and interspecific interactions and activity patterns of a hantavirus reservoir host (North American deermouse; Peromyscus maniculatus). Trials consisted of three treatments of rodent assemblages that differed in species richness, but had equal abundance of deermice; treatment 1 consisted of only deermice, treatment 2 included deermice and one non-competent host species, and treatment 3 included two non-competent host species in addition to deermice. To measure interactions and temporal activity, we strategically deployed foraging stations and infrared cameras. We did not find differences in the frequency of intraspecific interactions of deermice among treatments, but there were significantly more interspecific interactions between deermouse and non-competent hosts in treatment 2 than treatment 3, which is explained by the identity of the non-competent host species. In addition, there were differences in activity patterns between rodent species, and also between deermice from treatment 1 and treatment 2. These results indicate that at least at a small-scale analysis, the co-occurrence with other species in the study area does not influence the frequency of intraspecific interactions of deermice, and that deermice may be changing their activity patterns to avoid a particular non-competent host species (Dipodomys merriami). In conclusion, in this deermouse-hantavirus system a potential dilution effect would not be through intraspecific encounter reduction in the most competent hantavirus host. To identify variables of host assemblages that can influence pathogen transmission, we highlight the need to address the identity of species and the composition of assemblages, not only host species richness or diversity.
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130
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Rodríguez-Nevado C, Montes N, Pagán I. Ecological Factors Affecting Infection Risk and Population Genetic Diversity of a Novel Potyvirus in Its Native Wild Ecosystem. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2017; 8:1958. [PMID: 29184567 PMCID: PMC5694492 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.01958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates that there is ample diversity of plant virus species in wild ecosystems. The vast majority of this diversity, however, remains uncharacterized. Moreover, in these ecosystems the factors affecting plant virus infection risk and population genetic diversity, two traits intrinsically linked to virus emergence, are largely unknown. Along 3 years, we have analyzed the prevalence and diversity of plant virus species from the genus Potyvirus in evergreen oak forests of the Iberian Peninsula, the main wild ecosystem in this geographic region and in the entire Mediterranean basin. During this period, we have also measured plant species diversity, host density, plant biomass, temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall. Results indicated that potyviruses were always present in evergreen oak forests, with a novel virus species explaining the largest fraction of potyvirus-infected plants. We determined the genomic sequence of this novel virus and we explored its host range in natural and greenhouse conditions. Natural host range was limited to the perennial plant mountain rue (Ruta montana), commonly found in evergreen oak forests of the Iberian Peninsula. In this host, the virus was highly prevalent and was therefore provisionally named mediterranean ruda virus (MeRV). Focusing in this natural host-virus interaction, we analyzed the ecological factors affecting MeRV infection risk and population genetic diversity in its native wild ecosystem. The main predictor of virus infection risk was the host density. MeRV prevalence was the major factor determining genetic diversity and selection pressures in the virus populations. This observation supports theoretical predictions assigning these two traits a key role in parasite epidemiology and evolution. Thus, our analyses contribute both to characterize viral diversity and to understand the ecological determinants of virus population dynamics in wild ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Rodríguez-Nevado
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid – Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nuria Montes
- Plant Physiology, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, CEU-San Pablo University, Madrid, Spain
- Rheumatology Service, Hospital Universitario La Princesa, IIS-IP, Madrid, Spain
| | - Israel Pagán
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid – Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Madrid, Spain
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131
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Thrush SF, Hewitt JE, Kraan C, Lohrer AM, Pilditch CA, Douglas E. Changes in the location of biodiversity-ecosystem function hot spots across the seafloor landscape with increasing sediment nutrient loading. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:rspb.2016.2861. [PMID: 28404774 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2016] [Accepted: 03/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Declining biodiversity and loss of ecosystem function threatens the ability of habitats to contribute ecosystem services. However, the form of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) and how relationships change with environmental change is poorly understood. This limits our ability to predict the consequences of biodiversity loss on ecosystem function, particularly in real-world marine ecosystems that are species rich, and where multiple ecosystem functions are represented by multiple indicators. We investigated spatial variation in BEF relationships across a 300 000 m2 intertidal sandflat by nesting experimental manipulations of sediment pore water nitrogen concentration into sites with contrasting macrobenthic community composition. Our results highlight the significance of many different elements of biodiversity associated with environmental characteristics, community structure, functional diversity, ecological traits or particular species (ecosystem engineers) to important functions of coastal marine sediments (benthic oxygen consumption, ammonium pore water concentrations and flux across the sediment-water interface). Using the BEF relationships developed from our experiment, we demonstrate patchiness across a landscape in functional performance and the potential for changes in the location of functional hot and cold spots with increasing nutrient loading that have important implications for mapping and predicating change in functionality and the concomitant delivery of ecosystem services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon F Thrush
- Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Judi E Hewitt
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, PO Box 11-115, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Casper Kraan
- Department of Functional Ecology, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - A M Lohrer
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, PO Box 11-115, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Conrad A Pilditch
- School of Science, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Emily Douglas
- School of Science, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand
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132
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Parasites as prey: the effect of cercarial density and alternative prey on consumption of cercariae by four non-host species. Parasitology 2017; 144:1775-1782. [PMID: 28721835 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182017001056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
In parasites with complex life cycles the transmission of free-living infective stages can be influenced by ambient community diversity, in particular via predation. Here, we experimentally investigated whether parasite density and the presence of alternative prey can alter predation rates on free-living cercarial stages of a marine trematode by several non-host predators. All four predator species consumed increasing numbers of cercariae with an increase in cercarial density, indicating that the removal of cercariae by predators is effective over a range of natural densities as well as in the presence of alternative prey for a number of predators typical of marine ecosystems. However, the relative removal rates and the effects of cercarial density and alternative prey differed among predator species. In barnacles and shrimps, significant interactive effects of cercarial density and alternative prey on cercarial predation occurred while in oysters and crabs cercarial removal rates were unaffected by both factors. As changes in cercarial densities directly translate into changes in infection levels in down-stream hosts in this parasite-host system, the observed predator-specific responses suggest that cercarial predation effects on disease risks will depend on the specific species composition of ambient communities and not on non-host biodiversity per se.
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133
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Ecke F, Angeler DG, Magnusson M, Khalil H, Hörnfeldt B. Dampening of population cycles in voles affects small mammal community structure, decreases diversity, and increases prevalence of a zoonotic disease. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:5331-5342. [PMID: 28770071 PMCID: PMC5528244 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2017] [Revised: 04/23/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Long-term decline and depression of density in cyclic small rodents is a recent widespread phenomenon. These observed changes at the population level might have cascading effects at the ecosystem level. Here, we assessed relationships between changing boreal landscapes and biodiversity changes of small mammal communities. We also inferred potential effects of observed community changes for increased transmission risk of Puumala virus (PUUV) spread, causing the zoonotic disease nephropatica epidemica in humans. Analyses were based on long-term (1971-2013) monitoring data of shrews and voles representing 58 time series in northern Sweden. We calculated richness, diversity, and evenness at alpha, beta, and gamma level, partitioned beta diversity into turnover (species replacement) and nestedness (species addition/removal), used similarity percentages (SIMPER) analysis to assess community structure, and calculated the cumulated number of PUUV-infected bank voles and average PUUV prevalence (percentage of infected bank voles) per vole cycle. Alpha, beta, and gamma richness and diversity of voles, but not shrews, showed long-term trends that varied spatially. The observed patterns were associated with an increase in community contribution of bank vole (Myodes glareolus), a decrease of gray-sided vole (M. rufocanus) and field vole (Microtus agrestis) and a hump-shaped variation in contribution of common shrew (Sorex araneus). Long-term biodiversity changes were largely related to changes in forest landscape structure. Number of PUUV-infected bank voles in spring was negatively related to beta and gamma diversity, and positively related to turnover of shrews (replaced by voles) and to community contribution of bank voles. The latter was also positively related to average PUUV prevalence in spring. We showed that long-term changes in the boreal landscape contributed to explain the decrease in biodiversity and the change in structure of small mammal communities. In addition, our results suggest decrease in small mammal diversity to have knock-on effects on dynamics of infectious diseases among small mammals with potential implications for disease transmission to humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frauke Ecke
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental StudiesSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUmeåSweden
| | - David G. Angeler
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and AssessmentSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUppsalaSweden
| | - Magnus Magnusson
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental StudiesSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUmeåSweden
| | - Hussein Khalil
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental StudiesSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUmeåSweden
| | - Birger Hörnfeldt
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental StudiesSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUmeåSweden
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134
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Guerrero-Ramírez NR, Eisenhauer N. Trophic and non-trophic interactions influence the mechanisms underlying biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships under different abiotic conditions. OIKOS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.04190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nathaly R. Guerrero-Ramírez
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e; DE-04103 Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Leipzig Univ.; Leipzig Germany
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e; DE-04103 Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Leipzig Univ.; Leipzig Germany
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135
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Weinstein S, Titcomb G, Agwanda B, Riginos C, Young H. Parasite responses to large mammal loss in an African savanna. Ecology 2017; 98:1839-1848. [PMID: 28403506 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Revised: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Biodiversity loss can alter disease transmission; however, the magnitude and direction of these effects vary widely across ecosystems, scales, and pathogens. Here we experimentally examine the effects of one of the most globally pervasive patterns of biodiversity decline, the selective loss of large wildlife, on infection probability, intensity and population size of a group of common rodent-borne parasites - macroparasitic helminths. Consistent with previous work on vector-borne pathogens, we found that large wildlife removal causes strong and systematic increases of rodent-borne parasites, largely due to increases in rodent density, as rodents are released from competition with larger herbivores. Although we predicted that increased host density would also increase per capita infection among all directly transmitted parasites, this additional amplification occurred for only two of three examined parasites. Furthermore, the actual effects of large mammal loss on per capita infection were mediated by the complex suite of abiotic and biotic factors that regulate parasite transmission. Thus, while these results strongly suggest that large wildlife loss will cause systematic increases in rodent parasite populations, they also underscore the difficulty of making more specific predictions for a given parasite based on simple attributes such as transmission mode or life history strategy. Instead, detailed information on the ecology of each parasite species would be necessary to make more accurate predictions of how biodiversity loss will affect infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Weinstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Georgia Titcomb
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.,Mpala Research Centre, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Bernard Agwanda
- Zoology Department, Mammalogy Section, National Museums Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Corinna Riginos
- Mpala Research Centre, Nanyuki, Kenya.,Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Hillary Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.,Mpala Research Centre, Nanyuki, Kenya
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136
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Wuerthner VP, Hua J, Hoverman JT. The benefits of coinfection: trematodes alter disease outcomes associated with virus infection. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:921-931. [PMID: 28317105 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Coinfections are increasingly recognized as important drivers of disease dynamics. Consequently, greater emphasis has been placed on integrating principles from community ecology with disease ecology to understand within-host interactions among parasites. Using larval amphibians and two amphibian parasites (ranaviruses and the trematode Echinoparyphium sp.), we examined the influence of coinfection on disease outcomes. Our first objective was to examine how priority effects (the timing and sequence of parasite exposure) influence infection and disease outcomes in the laboratory. We found that interactions between the parasites were asymmetric; prior infection with Echinoparyphium reduced ranaviral loads by 9% but there was no reciprocal effect of prior ranavirus infection on Echinoparyphium load. Additionally, survival rates of hosts (larval gray treefrogs; Hyla versicolor) infected with Echinoparyphium 10 days prior to virus exposure were 25% greater compared to hosts only exposed to virus. Our second objective was to determine whether these patterns were generalizable to multiple amphibian species under more natural conditions. We conducted a semi-natural mesocosm experiment consisting of four larval amphibian hosts [gray treefrogs, American toads (Anaxyrus americanus), leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens) and spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer)] to examine how prior Echinoparyphium infection influenced ranavirus transmission within the community, using ranavirus-infected larval wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) as source of ranavirus. Consistent with the laboratory experiment, we found that prior Echinoparyphium infection reduced ranaviral loads by 19 to 28% in three of the four species. Collectively, these results suggest that macroparasite infection can reduce microparasite replication rates across multiple amphibian species, possibly through cross-reactive immunity. Although the immunological mechanisms driving this outcome are in need of further study, trematode infections appear to benefit hosts that are exposed to ranaviruses. Additionally, these results suggest that consideration of priority effects and timing of exposure are vital for understanding parasite interactions within hosts and disease outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa P Wuerthner
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Jessica Hua
- Biological Sciences Department, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA
| | - Jason T Hoverman
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
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137
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Sures B, Nachev M, Pahl M, Grabner D, Selbach C. Parasites as drivers of key processes in aquatic ecosystems: Facts and future directions. Exp Parasitol 2017; 180:141-147. [PMID: 28456692 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2017.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/25/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Despite the advances in our understanding of the ecological importance of parasites that we have made in recent years, we are still far away from having a complete picture of the ecological implications connected to parasitism. In the present paper we highlight key issues that illustrate (1) important contributions of parasites to biodiversity, (2) their integral role in ecosystems, (3) as well as their ecological effects as keystone species (4) and in biological invasion processes. By using selected examples from aquatic ecosystems we want to provide an insight and generate interest into the topic, and want to show directions for future research in the field of ecological parasitology. This may help to convince more parasitologists and ecologists contributing and advancing our understanding of the complex and fascinating interplay of parasites, hosts and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Sures
- Aquatic Ecology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, D-45141 Essen, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, D-45141 Essen, Germany; Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - M Nachev
- Aquatic Ecology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, D-45141 Essen, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, D-45141 Essen, Germany
| | - M Pahl
- Aquatic Ecology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, D-45141 Essen, Germany
| | - D Grabner
- Aquatic Ecology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, D-45141 Essen, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, D-45141 Essen, Germany
| | - C Selbach
- Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
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138
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Dargent F, Morrill A, Alisauskas RT, McLaughlin JD, Shutler D, Forbes MR. Lesser snow goose helminths show recurring and positive parasite infection-diversity relations. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2017; 6:22-28. [PMID: 28229044 PMCID: PMC5312511 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2017.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2016] [Revised: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 01/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The patterns and mechanisms by which biological diversity is associated with parasite infection risk are important to study because of their potential implications for wildlife population's conservation and management. Almost all research in this area has focused on host species diversity and has neglected parasite diversity, despite evidence that parasites are important drivers of community structure and ecosystem processes. Here, we assessed whether presence or abundance of each of nine helminth species parasitizing lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens) was associated with indices of parasite diversity (i.e. species richness and Shannon's Diversity Index). We found repeated instances of focal parasite presence and abundance having significant positive co-variation with diversity measures of other parasites. These results occurred both within individual samples and for combinations of all samples. Whereas host condition and parasite facilitation could be drivers of the patterns we observed, other host- or parasite-level effects, such as age or sex class of host or taxon of parasite, were discounted as explanatory variables. Our findings of recurring and positive associations between focal parasite abundance and diversity underscore the importance of moving beyond pairwise species interactions and contexts, and of including the oft-neglected parasite species diversity in infection-diversity studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Dargent
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S-5B6, Canada
| | - André Morrill
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S-5B6, Canada
| | - Ray T. Alisauskas
- Environment Canada, Prairie & Northern Wildlife Research Centre, 115 Perimeter Road, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X4, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - J. Daniel McLaughlin
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Dave Shutler
- Department of Biology, Acadia University, 33 Westwood Avenue, Wolfville, NS, B4P 2R6, Canada
| | - Mark R. Forbes
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S-5B6, Canada
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139
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140
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The Baltic Sea Virome: Diversity and Transcriptional Activity of DNA and RNA Viruses. mSystems 2017; 2:mSystems00125-16. [PMID: 28217745 PMCID: PMC5309335 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00125-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Inferred virus-host relationships, community structures of ubiquitous ecologically relevant groups, and identification of transcriptionally active populations have been achieved with our Baltic Sea study. Further, these data, highlighting the transcriptional activity of viruses, represent one of the more powerful uses of omics concerning ecosystem health. The use of omics-related data to assess ecosystem health holds great promise for rapid and relatively inexpensive determination of perturbations and risk, explicitly with regard to viral assemblages, as no single marker gene is suitable for widespread taxonomic coverage. Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data were generated from size-fractionated samples from 11 sites within the Baltic Sea and adjacent marine waters of Kattegat and freshwater Lake Torneträsk in order to investigate the diversity, distribution, and transcriptional activity of virioplankton. Such a transect, spanning a salinity gradient from freshwater to the open sea, facilitated a broad genome-enabled investigation of natural as well as impacted aspects of Baltic Sea viral communities. Taxonomic signatures representative of phages within the widely distributed order Caudovirales were identified with enrichments in lesser-known families such as Podoviridae and Siphoviridae. The distribution of phage reported to infect diverse and ubiquitous heterotrophic bacteria (SAR11 clades) and cyanobacteria (Synechococcus sp.) displayed population-level shifts in diversity. Samples from higher-salinity conditions (>14 practical salinity units [PSU]) had increased abundances of viruses for picoeukaryotes, i.e., Ostreococcus. These data, combined with host diversity estimates, suggest viral modulation of diversity on the whole-community scale, as well as in specific prokaryotic and eukaryotic lineages. RNA libraries revealed single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and RNA viral populations throughout the Baltic Sea, with ssDNA phage highly represented in Lake Torneträsk. Further, our data suggest relatively high transcriptional activity of fish viruses within diverse families known to have broad host ranges, such as Nodoviridae (RNA), Iridoviridae (DNA), and predicted zoonotic viruses that can cause ecological and economic damage as well as impact human health. IMPORTANCE Inferred virus-host relationships, community structures of ubiquitous ecologically relevant groups, and identification of transcriptionally active populations have been achieved with our Baltic Sea study. Further, these data, highlighting the transcriptional activity of viruses, represent one of the more powerful uses of omics concerning ecosystem health. The use of omics-related data to assess ecosystem health holds great promise for rapid and relatively inexpensive determination of perturbations and risk, explicitly with regard to viral assemblages, as no single marker gene is suitable for widespread taxonomic coverage.
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141
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Effect of host diversity and species assemblage composition on bovine tuberculosis (bTB) risk in Ethiopian cattle. Parasitology 2017; 144:783-792. [PMID: 28134065 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182016002511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Current theories on diversity-disease relationships describe host species diversity and species identity as important factors influencing disease risk, either diluting or amplifying disease prevalence in a community. Whereas the simple term 'diversity' embodies a set of animal community characteristics, it is not clear how different measures of species diversity are correlated with disease risk. We therefore tested the effects of species richness, Pielou's evenness and Shannon's diversity on bovine tuberculosis (bTB) risk in cattle in the Afar Region and Awash National Park between November 2013 and April 2015. We also analysed the identity effect of a particular species and the effect of host habitat use overlap on bTB risk. We used the comparative intradermal tuberculin test to assess the number of bTB-infected cattle. Our results suggested a dilution effect through species evenness. We found that the identity effect of greater kudu - a maintenance host - confounded the dilution effect of species diversity on bTB risk. bTB infection was positively correlated with habitat use overlap between greater kudu and cattle. Different diversity indices have to be considered together for assessing diversity-disease relationships, for understanding the underlying causal mechanisms. We posit that unpacking diversity metrics is also relevant for formulating disease control strategies to manage cattle in ecosystems characterized by seasonally limited resources and intense wildlife-livestock interactions.
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142
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Liu X, Lyu S, Sun D, Bradshaw CJA, Zhou S. Species decline under nitrogen fertilization increases community-level competence of fungal diseases. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20162621. [PMID: 28123094 PMCID: PMC5310047 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The artificial fertilization of soils can alter the structure of natural plant communities and exacerbate pathogen emergence and transmission. Although the direct effects of fertilization on disease resistance in plants have received some research attention, its indirect effects of altered community structure on the severity of fungal disease infection remain largely uninvestigated. We designed manipulation experiments in natural assemblages of Tibetan alpine meadow vegetation along a nitrogen-fertilization gradient over 5 years to compare the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of fertilization on foliar fungal infections at the community level. We found that species with lower proneness to pathogens were more likely to be extirpated following fertilization, such that community-level competence of disease, and thus community pathogen load, increased with the intensity of fertilization. The amount of nitrogen added (direct effect) and community disease competence (indirect effect) provided the most parsimonious combination of parameters explaining the variation in disease severity. Our experiment provides a mechanistic explanation for the dilution effect in fertilized, natural assemblages in a highly specific pathogen-host system, and thus insights into the consequences of human ecosystem modifications on the dynamics of infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Liu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Shengman Lyu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Dexin Sun
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Corey J A Bradshaw
- School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia
| | - Shurong Zhou
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
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143
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Abstract
SUMMARYThe dilution effect (DE) has been reported in many diseases, but its generality is still highly disputed. Most current criticisms of DE are related to animal diseases. Particularly, some critical studies argued that DE is less likely to occur in complex environments. Here our meta-analyses demonstrated that the magnitude of DE did not differ between animal vs plant diseases. Moreover, DE generally occurs in all three subgroups of animal diseases, namely direct-transmitted diseases, vector-borne diseases and diseases caused by parasites with free-living stages. Our findings serve as an important contribution to understanding the generality of DE.
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144
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Atkinson CL, Capps KA, Rugenski AT, Vanni MJ. Consumer-driven nutrient dynamics in freshwater ecosystems: from individuals to ecosystems. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:2003-2023. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Revised: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carla L. Atkinson
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Alabama; Tuscaloosa AL 35487 U.S.A
| | - Krista A. Capps
- Odum School of Ecology; University of Georgia; Athens GA 30602 U.S.A
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory; University of Georgia; Aiken SC 29808 U.S.A
| | - Amanda T. Rugenski
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Cornell University; Ithaca NY 14853 U.S.A
| | - Michael J. Vanni
- Department of Biology and Graduate Program in Ecology Evolution and Environmental Biology; Miami University; Oxford OH 45056 U.S.A
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145
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Young HS, McCauley DJ, Galetti M, Dirzo R. Patterns, Causes, and Consequences of Anthropocene Defaunation. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2016. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 233] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Anthropocene defaunation, the global extinction of faunal species and populations and the decline in abundance of individuals within populations, has been predominantly documented in terrestrial ecosystems, but indicators suggest defaunation has been more severe in freshwater ecosystems. Marine defaunation is in a more incipient stage, yet pronounced effects are already apparent and its rapid acceleration seems likely. Defaunation now impacts the planet's wildlife with profound cascading consequences, ranging from local to global coextinctions of interacting species to the loss of ecological services critical for humanity. Slowing defaunation will require aggressively reducing animal overexploitation and habitat destruction; mitigating climate disruption; and stabilizing the impacts of human population growth and uneven resource consumption. Given its omnipresence, defaunation should receive status of major global environmental change and should be addressed with the same urgency as deforestation, pollution, and climatic change. Global action is needed to prevent defaunation's current trajectory from catalyzing the planet's sixth major extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillary S. Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Douglas J. McCauley
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
| | - Mauro Galetti
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 13506–900 Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Rodolfo Dirzo
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
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146
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Young HS, Parker IM, Gilbert GS, Sofia Guerra A, Nunn CL. Introduced Species, Disease Ecology, and Biodiversity-Disease Relationships. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 32:41-54. [PMID: 28029377 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Revised: 09/25/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Species introductions are a dominant component of biodiversity change but are not explicitly included in most discussions of biodiversity-disease relationships. This is a major oversight given the multitude of effects that introduced species have on both parasitism and native hosts. Drawing on both animal and plant systems, we review the competing mechanistic pathways by which biological introductions influence parasite diversity and prevalence. While some mechanisms - such as local changes in phylogenetic composition and global homogenization - have strong explanatory potential, the net effects of introduced species, especially at local scales, remain poorly understood. Integrative, community-scale studies that explicitly incorporate introduced species are needed to make effective predictions about the effects of realistic biodiversity change and conservation action on disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillary S Young
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| | - Ingrid M Parker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Gregory S Gilbert
- Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Ana Sofia Guerra
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Charles L Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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147
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Adams MS, Adams RB, Wessman CA, Demmig-Adams B. Nutritional Cues Tie Living Organisms to Their Environment and Its Sustainability. Front Nutr 2016; 3:28. [PMID: 27570764 PMCID: PMC4981599 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2016.00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2016] [Accepted: 07/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We connect modern, intensive agriculture's role in environmental degradation to its role in producing nutritionally unbalanced foods, and delineate specific approaches to reduce agriculture's environmental impact, while producing healthful foods. We call attention to recently discovered genetic programs used by all living organisms to respond to their environment, and present a model of how these programs change body composition and function (of humans and their crop plants and livestock alike) in response to environmental cues. We propose that production of nutritionally balanced crops and livestock requires careful consideration of how these plants and animals are grown; the composition of plant food is modulated by growing conditions, body composition of livestock reflects their feed; composition and function of human body and brain are strongly affected by how food plants and animals are produced. We selected four nutritional features not only involved in (i) governing human health by modulating these genetic programs, but (ii) also affected by agricultural practices. These nutritional features are fat composition (especially saturated fat and the ratio of polyunsaturated omega-6 oils to omega-3 oils), carbohydrate composition (especially the proportion of carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, such as sugars and quick-burning starches) and the level of antioxidant micronutrients. We not only outline threats to human health presented by the current environment, but also potential gains in quality-of-life in a future environment designed to optimize human wellness using insights into the gene-programing effect of diet- and other lifestyle-related factors. These gains could extend beyond optimal human physical and mental health to gains in workforce productivity. The same changes in agricultural practices required to achieve these gains in human health are also needed to support environmental health and sustainable food production. The resulting vision of optimal human health and environmental health, supported by sustainable practices, is intended as an inspiring image of what sustainability has to offer to individuals and society. Our goal is to provide a transparent overview and illustrations intelligible not only to non-experts in each of the other respective areas involved but also to policy makers and the public.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie S. Adams
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Robert B. Adams
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Carol A. Wessman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Barbara Demmig-Adams
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
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148
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Petit EJ, Puechmaille SJ. Will reduced host connectivity curb the spread of a devastating epidemic? Mol Ecol 2016; 24:5491-4. [PMID: 26769309 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2015] [Revised: 09/18/2015] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The white-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is threatening the cave-dwelling bat fauna of North America by killing individuals by the thousands in hibernacula each winter since its appearance in New York State less than ten years ago. Epidemiological models predict that WNS will reach the western coast of the USA by 2035, potentially eliminating most populations of susceptible bat species in its path (Frick et al. 2015; O'Regan et al. 2015). These models were built and validated using distributional data from the early years of the epidemic, which spread throughout eastern North America following a route driven by cave density and winter severity (Maher et al. 2012). In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Wilder et al. (2015) refine these findings by showing that connectivity among host populations, as assessed by population genetic markers, is crucial in determining the spread of the pathogen. Because host connectivity is much reduced in the hitherto disease free western half of North America, Wilder et al. make the reassuring prediction that the disease will spread more slowly west of the Great Plains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric J Petit
- INRA, Agrocampus-Ouest, UMR Ecologie et Santé des Ecosystèmes, 65 rue de St-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes cedex, France
| | - Sebastien J Puechmaille
- Zoological Institute & Museum, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University, Johann Sebastian Bach-Str. 11/12, 17489 Greifswald, Germany.,UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, D4 Dublin, Ireland
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149
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Khalil H, Ecke F, Evander M, Magnusson M, Hörnfeldt B. Declining ecosystem health and the dilution effect. Sci Rep 2016; 6:31314. [PMID: 27499001 PMCID: PMC4976314 DOI: 10.1038/srep31314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Accepted: 07/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The “dilution effect” implies that where species vary in susceptibility to infection by a pathogen, higher diversity often leads to lower infection prevalence in hosts. For directly transmitted pathogens, non-host species may “dilute” infection directly (1) and indirectly (2). Competitors and predators may (1) alter host behavior to reduce pathogen transmission or (2) reduce host density. In a well-studied system, we tested the dilution of the zoonotic Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) in bank voles (Myodes glareolus) by two competitors and a predator. Our study was based on long-term PUUV infection data (2003–2013) in northern Sweden. The field vole (Microtus agrestis) and the common shrew (Sorex araneus) are bank vole competitors and Tengmalm’s owl (Aegolius funereus) is a main predator of bank voles. Infection probability in bank voles decreased when common shrew density increased, suggesting that common shrews reduced PUUV transmission. Field voles suppressed bank vole density in meadows and clear-cuts and indirectly diluted PUUV infection. Further, Tengmalm’s owl decline in 1980–2013 may have contributed to higher PUUV infection rates in bank voles in 2003–2013 compared to 1979–1986. Our study provides further evidence for dilution effect and suggests that owls may have an important role in reducing disease risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussein Khalil
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Frauke Ecke
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden.,Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Gerda Nilssons väg 5, SE-756 51 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Magnus Evander
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Virology, Umeå University, SE-901 85 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Magnus Magnusson
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Birger Hörnfeldt
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogmarksgränd, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden
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150
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Koprivnikar J, Johnson PTJ. The Rise of Disease Ecology and Its Implications for Parasitology— A Review. J Parasitol 2016; 102:397-409. [DOI: 10.1645/15-942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Janet Koprivnikar
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Pieter T. J. Johnson
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2K3, Canada
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