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Voigt CC, Bernard E, Huang JCC, Frick WF, Kerbiriou C, MacEwan K, Mathews F, Rodríguez-Durán A, Scholz C, Webala PW, Welbergen J, Whitby M. Toward solving the global green-green dilemma between wind energy production and bat conservation. Bioscience 2024; 74:240-252. [PMID: 38720909 PMCID: PMC11075649 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biae023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Wind energy production is growing rapidly worldwide in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, wind energy production is not environmentally neutral. Negative impacts on volant animals, such as bats, include fatalities at turbines and habitat loss due to land-use change and displacement. Siting turbines away from ecologically sensitive areas and implementing measures to reduce fatalities are critical to protecting bat populations. Restricting turbine operations during periods of high bat activity is the most effective form of mitigation currently available to reduce fatalities. Compensating for habitat loss and offsetting mortality are not often practiced, because meaningful offsets are lacking. Legal frameworks to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts of wind energy on bats are absent in most countries, especially in emerging markets. Therefore, governments and lending institutions are key in reconciling wind energy production with biodiversity goals by requiring sufficient environmental standards for wind energy projects.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Enrico Bernard
- Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada a Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Joe Chun-Chia Huang
- Department of Life Science at the National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan
| | | | - Christian Kerbiriou
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique at Sorbonne Université Station Marine, in Concarneau, France
| | - Kate MacEwan
- Western EcoSystems Technology, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States
| | - Fiona Mathews
- School of Life Sciences at the University of Sussex, Falmer, England, United Kingdom
| | | | - Carolin Scholz
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Paul W Webala
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management at Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya
| | - Justin Welbergen
- The Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University, Richmond, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael Whitby
- Bat Conservation International, Austin, Texas, United States
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2
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Forero-Muñoz NR, Muylaert RL, Seifert SN, Albery GF, Becker DJ, Carlson CJ, Poisot T. The coevolutionary mosaic of bat betacoronavirus emergence risk. Virus Evol 2023; 10:vead079. [PMID: 38361817 PMCID: PMC10868545 DOI: 10.1093/ve/vead079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Pathogen evolution is one of the least predictable components of disease emergence, particularly in nature. Here, building on principles established by the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution, we develop a quantitative, spatially explicit framework for mapping the evolutionary risk of viral emergence. Driven by interest in diseases like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we examine the global biogeography of bat-origin betacoronaviruses, and find that coevolutionary principles suggest geographies of risk that are distinct from the hotspots and coldspots of host richness. Further, our framework helps explain patterns like a unique pool of merbecoviruses in the Neotropics, a recently discovered lineage of divergent nobecoviruses in Madagascar, and-most importantly-hotspots of diversification in southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East that correspond to the site of previous zoonotic emergence events. Our framework may help identify hotspots of future risk that have also been previously overlooked, like West Africa and the Indian subcontinent, and may more broadly help researchers understand how host ecology shapes the evolution and diversity of pandemic threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norma R Forero-Muñoz
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 1375 Avenue Thérèse-Lavoie-Roux, Montréal (Québec) H2V 0B3, Canada
- Québec Centre for Biodiversity Sciences
| | - Renata L Muylaert
- Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, New Zealand
| | - Stephanie N Seifert
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - Gregory F Albery
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Daniel J Becker
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Colin J Carlson
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
- Center for Global Health Science and Security, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Timothée Poisot
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 1375 Avenue Thérèse-Lavoie-Roux, Montréal (Québec) H2V 0B3, Canada
- Québec Centre for Biodiversity Sciences
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Szentivanyi T, McKee C, Jones G, Foster JT. Trends in Bacterial Pathogens of Bats: Global Distribution and Knowledge Gaps. Transbound Emerg Dis 2023. [DOI: 10.1155/2023/9285855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Bats have received considerable recent attention for infectious disease research because of their potential to host and transmit viruses, including Ebola, Hendra, Nipah, and multiple coronaviruses. These pathogens are occasionally transmitted from bats to wildlife, livestock, and to humans, directly or through other bridging (intermediate) hosts. Due to their public health relevance, zoonotic viruses are a primary focus of research attention. In contrast, other emerging pathogens of bats, such as bacteria, are vastly understudied despite their ubiquity and diversity. Here, we describe the currently known host ranges and geographic distributional patterns of potentially zoonotic bacterial genera in bats, using published presence-absence data of pathogen occurrence. We identify apparent gaps in our understanding of the distribution of these pathogens on a global scale. The most frequently detected bacterial genera in bats are Bartonella, Leptospira, and Mycoplasma. However, a wide variety of other potentially zoonotic bacterial genera are also occasionally found in bats, such as Anaplasma, Brucella, Borrelia, Coxiella, Ehrlichia, Francisella, Neorickettsia, and Rickettsia. The bat families Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae, and Pteropodidae are most frequently reported as hosts of bacterial pathogens; however, the presence of at least one bacterial genus was confirmed in all 15 bat families tested. On a spatial scale, molecular diagnostics of samples from 58 countries and four overseas departments and island states (French Guiana, Mayotte, New Caledonia, and Réunion Island) reported testing for at least one bacterial pathogen in bats. We also identified geographical areas that have been mostly neglected during bacterial pathogen research in bats, such as the Afrotropical region and Southern Asia. Current knowledge on the distribution of potentially zoonotic bacterial genera in bats is strongly biased by research effort towards certain taxonomic groups and geographic regions. Identifying these biases can guide future surveillance efforts, contributing to a better understanding of the ecoepidemiology of zoonotic pathogens in bats.
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Caraballo DA. Cross-Species Transmission of Bat Coronaviruses in the Americas: Contrasting Patterns between Alphacoronavirus and Betacoronavirus. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0141122. [PMID: 35770987 PMCID: PMC9431099 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01411-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Bats harbor the largest number of coronavirus (CoV) species among mammals, serving as major reservoirs of alphaCoVs and betaCoVs, which can jump between bat species or to different mammalian hosts, including humans. Bat-CoV diversity is correlated with host taxonomic diversity, with the highest number of CoV species found in areas with the highest levels of bat species richness. Although the Americas harbor a unique and distinctive CoV diversity, no cross-species transmission (CST) or phylogeographic analysis has yet been performed. This study analyzes a large sequence data set from across the Americas through a Bayesian framework to understand how codivergence and cross-species transmission have shaped long-term bat-CoV evolution and ultimately identify bat hosts and regions where the risk of CST is the highest. Substantial levels of CST were found only among alphaCoVs. In contrast, cospeciation prevailed along the evolution of betaCoVs. Brazil is the center of diversification for both alpha and betaCoVs, with the highest levels of bat species richness. The bat family Phyllostomidae has played a key role in the evolution of American bat-CoVs, supported by the highest values of host transition rates. Although the conclusions drawn from this study are supported by biological/ecological evidence, it is likely that novel lineages will be discovered, which could also reveal undetected CSTs given that sequences are available from 11 of the 35 countries encompassing the Americas. The findings of this study can be useful for conducting targeted discovery of bat-CoVs in the region, especially in countries of the Americas with no reported sequences. IMPORTANCE Coronaviruses (CoVs) have a strong zoonotic potential due to their high rates of evolvability and their capacity for overcoming host-specific barriers. Bats harbor the largest number of CoV species among mammals, with the highest CoV diversity found in areas with the highest levels of bat species richness. Understanding their origin and patterns of cross-species transmission is crucial for pandemic preparedness. This study aims to understand how bat-CoVs diversify in the Americas, circulate among and transmit between bat families and genera, and ultimately identify bat hosts and regions where the risk of CoV spillover is the highest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego A. Caraballo
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA), Ciudad Universitaria-Pabellón II, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Corro EJ, Villalobos F, Lira-Noriega A, Guevara R, Dáttilo W. Current climate and latitude shape the structure of bat-fruit interaction networks throughout the Neotropical region. ECOSCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/11956860.2021.2007644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erick J. Corro
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Veracruzana, Córdoba, Mexico
| | | | - Andrés Lira-Noriega
- CONACYT Research Fellow, Red de Estudios Moleculares Avanzados, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Roger Guevara
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
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Corro EJ, Villalobos F, Lira-Noriega A, Guevara R, Guimarães PR, Dáttilo W. Annual precipitation predicts the phylogenetic signal in bat-fruit interaction networks across the Neotropics. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210478. [PMID: 34847787 PMCID: PMC8633800 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Closely related species tend to be more similar than randomly selected species from the same phylogenetic tree. This pattern, known as a phylogenetic signal, has been extensively studied for intrinsic (e.g. morphology), as well as extrinsic (e.g. climatic preferences), properties but less so for ecological interactions. Phylogenetic signals of species interactions (i.e. resource use) can vary across time and space, but the causes behind such variations across broader spatial extents remain elusive. Here, we evaluated how current and historical climates influence phylogenetic signals of bat-fruit interaction networks across the Neotropics. We performed a model selection relating the phylogenetic signals of each trophic level (bats and plants) with a set of current and historical climatic factors deemed ecologically important in shaping biotic interactions. Bat and plant phylogenetic signals in bat-fruit interaction networks varied little with climatic factors, although bat phylogenetic signals positively covaried with annual precipitation. These findings indicated that water availability could increase resource availability, favouring higher niche partitioning of trophic resources among bat species and hence bat phylogenetic signals across bat-fruit interaction networks. Overall, our study advances our understanding of the spatial dynamics of bat-fruit interactions by highlighting the association of current climatic factors with phylogenetic patterns of biotic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erick J. Corro
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, CP 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Veracruzana, Córdoba, CP 94500, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Fabricio Villalobos
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, CP 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Andrés Lira-Noriega
- Red de Estudios Moleculares Avanzados, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, CP 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
- CONACYT Research Fellow, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Av. Insurgentes Sur 1582, Col. Crédito Constructor, Alcaldía Benito Juárez, CP 03940, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Roger Guevara
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, CP 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Paulo R. Guimarães
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, CEP 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, CP 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
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Kafash A, Ashrafi S, Yousefi M. Biogeography of bats in Iran: Mapping and disentangling environmental and historical drivers of bat richness. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anooshe Kafash
- Department of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Natural Resources University of Tehran Tehran Iran
| | - Sohrab Ashrafi
- Department of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Natural Resources University of Tehran Tehran Iran
| | - Masoud Yousefi
- School of Biology College of Science University of Tehran Tehran Iran
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Oliveira EVS, Alves DMC, Landim MF, Gouveia SF. Sampling effort and the drivers of plant species richness in the Brazilian coastal regions. Oecologia 2021; 195:163-171. [PMID: 33392791 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04805-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The causes of the gradients in species richness remain contentious because of multiple competing hypotheses, significant knowledge gaps, and regional effects of environmental and historical factors on species pools. Coastal zones are subject to particular sets of environmental constraints, thus identifying the drivers of species richness therein should shed light on the regional gradients of species diversity. Here, we investigate the geographic patterns and drivers of plant diversity across coastal regions while allowing for pervasive sampling deficiencies. Based on 142708 records of flowering plant occurrences, we mapped species richness and estimated the level of knowledge across the coastal zone of Brazil. Based on inventory completeness, we used linear regression models to test the predictive power of environmental variables that represent different environmental hypotheses. Few cells (25%) were well-surveyed, reflecting little knowledge about the distribution and diversity of flowering plants on the highly-populated Brazilian coast. Still, we found support for the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis as the best explanation of the variation in species richness of flowering plants in this region. Soil properties and water constraints are also important factors. Although our work emphasises the paucity of information on plant diversity in tropical and human-dominated areas, we show that knowledge limitations should not curb our capability of addressing hypotheses about species diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Vinícius S Oliveira
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil.
| | - Davi M C Alves
- Evolution and Conservation of Biodiversity (INCT-EECBio), National Institute of Science and Technology Ecology, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
| | - Myrna F Landim
- Department of Biology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil
| | - Sidney F Gouveia
- Evolution and Conservation of Biodiversity (INCT-EECBio), National Institute of Science and Technology Ecology, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.,Department of Ecology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil
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Morales-Barbero J, Gouveia SF, Martinez PA. Historical climatic instability predicts the inverse latitudinal pattern in speciation rate of modern mammalian biota. J Evol Biol 2020; 34:339-351. [PMID: 33169463 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary rate explanations for latitudinal diversity gradients predict faster speciation and diversification rates in richer, older and more stable tropical regions (climatic stability hypothesis). Numerous modern lineages have emerged in high latitudes, however, suggesting that climatic oscillations can drive population divergence, at least among extratropical species (glacial refugia hypothesis). This conflicting evidence suggests that geographical patterns of evolutionary rates are more complicated than previously thought. Here, we reconstructed the complex evolutionary dynamics of a comprehensive data set of modern mammals, both terrestrial and marine. We performed global and regional regression analyses to investigate how climatic instability could have indirectly influenced contemporary diversity gradients through its effects on evolutionary rates. In particular, we explored global and regional patterns of the relationships between species richness and assemblage-level evolutionary rates and between evolutionary rates and climatic instability. We found an inverse relationship between evolutionary rates and species richness, especially in the terrestrial domain. Additionally, climatic instability was strongly associated with the highest evolutionary rates at high terrestrial latitudes, supporting the glacial refugia hypothesis there. At low latitudes, evolutionary rates were unrelated to climatic stability. The inverse relationship between evolutionary rates and the modern latitudinal diversity gradient casts doubt on the idea that higher evolutionary rates in the tropics underlie the current diversity patterns of modern mammals. Alternatively, the longer time spans for diversity to accumulate in the older and more stable tropics (and not high diversification rates) may explain the latitudinal diversity gradient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Morales-Barbero
- PIBiLab (Laboratorio de Pesquisas Integrativas em Biodiversidade), Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil
| | - Sidney F Gouveia
- PIBiLab (Laboratorio de Pesquisas Integrativas em Biodiversidade), Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil.,Department of Ecology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil
| | - Pablo A Martinez
- PIBiLab (Laboratorio de Pesquisas Integrativas em Biodiversidade), Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil.,Department of Biology, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil
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