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Nowakowski AJ, Whitfield SM, Eskew EA, Thompson ME, Rose JP, Caraballo BL, Kerby JL, Donnelly MA, Todd BD. Infection risk decreases with increasing mismatch in host and pathogen environmental tolerances. Ecol Lett 2016; 19:1051-61. [PMID: 27339786 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2016] [Revised: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has caused the greatest known wildlife pandemic, infecting over 500 amphibian species. It remains unclear why some host species decline from disease-related mortality whereas others persist. We introduce a conceptual model that predicts that infection risk in ectotherms will decrease as the difference between host and pathogen environmental tolerances (i.e. tolerance mismatch) increases. We test this prediction using both local-scale data from Costa Rica and global analyses of over 11 000 Bd infection assays. We find that infection prevalence decreases with increasing thermal tolerance mismatch and with increasing host tolerance of habitat modification. The relationship between environmental tolerance mismatches and Bd infection prevalence is generalisable across multiple amphibian families and spatial scales, and the magnitude of the tolerance mismatch effect depends on environmental context. These findings may help explain patterns of amphibian declines driven by a global wildlife pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Justin Nowakowski
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | | | - Evan A Eskew
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Michelle E Thompson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Jonathan P Rose
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Benjamin L Caraballo
- Science Department, Renaissance Charter High School for Innovation, 410 E. 100 St., New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Jacob L Kerby
- Biology Department, University of South Dakota, 414 E. Clark St., Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA
| | - Maureen A Donnelly
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Brian D Todd
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
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