A Flight Path Forward for Avian Infectious Disease Ecology

2021 ◽  
pp. 245-254
Author(s):  
Dana M. Hawley ◽  
Kathryn P. Huyvaert ◽  
Jennifer C. Owen
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Flight Path ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
Effective Community ◽  
Ideal Study ◽  
Avian Disease

The field of avian infectious disease ecology is at a key precipice, poised for exciting new ‘flight paths’ in the coming decades. Given the enormous human interest in birds, the unique biology of birds, and the scientific tractability of many avian species, birds represent ideal study systems for generating important insights for the field of infectious disease ecology more broadly. A flight path forward for avian infectious disease ecology must leverage these unique characteristics of birds to bridge and integrate across disciplines and scales, from the levels of biological organization (individual to community) to the spatial and temporal units of analysis. The broader field of One Health provides a key framework for transdisciplinary work that recognizes and studies avian infectious disease as intimately interconnected to that of human and ecosystem health. The flight path forward for avian infectious disease ecology should also continue to leverage the highly engaged community scientists in several parts of the world who collect data relevant to avian disease across unprecedented spatial scales. Finally, the flight path forward for avian infectious disease should leverage technological innovations to improve our ability to track avian movements, from those occurring within forest patches or cities up to those that cross hemispheres. With effective community engagement, transdisciplinary collaboration, and technological innovation, the flight path forward for avian infectious disease ecology can, just like birds themselves, know no boundaries.

Disease Ecology

Ecology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Ostfeld
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Individual Organism

Disease ecology is a rapidly developing subdiscipline of ecology concerned with how species interactions and abiotic components of the environment affect patterns and processes of disease. To date, disease ecology has focused largely on infectious disease. The scientific study of infectious disease has a long history dominated by specialists on the taxa of infectious agents (e.g., bacteriologists, virologists), mechanisms of host defense (e.g., immunologists), effects of infection on individual hosts (e.g., pathologists), effects on host populations (epidemiologists), and treatment (e.g., practicing physicians and veterinarians). Disease ecology arose as scientists increasingly recognized that the interactions between pathogen and host could be conceptually united with other interspecific interactions, such as those between predator and prey, competitors, or mutualists. At its simplest, an infectious disease consists of an interaction between one species of pathogen and one species of host. The evolution of disease ecology since the late 20th century has incorporated additional layers of complexity, including recognition that most pathogens infect multiple species of host, that hosts are infected with multiple pathogens, and that abiotic conditions (e.g., temperature, moisture) interact with biotic conditions to affect transmission and disease. As a consequence, a framework broader than the simplest host-pathogen system is often required to understand disease dynamics. Disease ecologists are interested both in the ecological causes of disease patterns (for instance, how the population density of a host influences transmission rates), and the ecological consequences of disease (for instance, how the population dynamics of a host species change as an epidemic progresses). Consequently, disease ecology today often integrates across several levels of biological organization, from molecular mechanisms of pathology and immunity; to individual-organism changes in health, survival, and reproduction; to population dynamics of hosts and pathogens; to community dynamics of hosts and pathogens; to impacts of disease on ecosystem processes; to ecosystem-level effects of climate change and landscape change on disease.

scholarly journals The use and underuse of model systems in infectious disease ecology & evolution.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Wale ◽  
Meghan A Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Disease Dynamics ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Testing Theory ◽  
Definition Of

Ever since biologists began studying the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases (EEID), laboratory-based ‘model systems’ have been important for developing and testing theory. Yet what EEID researchers mean by ‘model systems’ and what they want from them remains to be clearly delineated. This uncertainty holds back our ability to maximally exploit these systems, identify knowledge gaps, and establish effective new model systems. Here, we borrow a definition of model systems from the biomolecular sciences to assess how EEID researchers are (and are not) using ten key model systems. According to this definition, model systems in EEID are not being used to their fullest and, in fact, cannot even be considered to be model systems. Research using these systems consistently addresses only two of the three fundamental processes that underlie disease dynamics-transmission and disease, but not recovery. Further, studies tend to focus on only a few of the scales of biological organization that matter for disease ecology and evolution. Moreover, the field lacks an infrastructure to perform comparative analyses. We aim to begin a discussion of what we want from model systems, which would further progress toward a thorough, holistic understanding of EEID.

scholarly journals Impact of Globalization and Animal Trade on Infectious Disease Ecology

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1807-1809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Marano ◽  
Paul M. Arguin ◽  
Marguerite Pappaioanou
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Animal Trade

Infectious Disease Ecology of Wild Birds

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Parasite Fauna ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Biological Communities ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
Ecological Hierarchy ◽  
Avian Biology ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Abiotic Interactions

Disease ecology is an interdisciplinary field that recognizes that the host–parasite interaction is shaped by the environment and can affect and be affected by the processes that occur across all levels of ecological organization. This book focuses on the dynamics of infectious diseases for wild avian hosts across different scales of biological organization—from within-host processes to landscape-level patterns. Parasite–bird interactions are both influenced by and have consequences for every level of ecological hierarchy, from the physiology, behavior, and evolution of individual hosts up to the complex biotic and abiotic interactions occurring within biological communities and ecosystems. As the most diverse group of extant vertebrates, birds have evolved to utilize every ecological niche on earth, giving them the capacity to serve as a host of pathogens in every part of the world. The diversity of birds is outmatched only by the diversity of the parasite fauna infecting them. Given the overwhelming diversity of both avian hosts and their parasites, we have only scratched the surface regarding the role that pathogens play in avian biology and the role that birds play in the maintenance and spread of zoonotic pathogens. In addition to this understudied diversity, parasite–bird interactions are increasingly occurring in rapidly changing global environments—thus, their ecology is changing—and this shapes the complex ways by which parasites influence the interconnected health of birds, humans, and shared ecosystems. The chapters in this book illustrate that the understanding of these complex and multiscale interactions requires an inherently integrative approach.

Land Use Change and Avian Disease Dynamics

2021 ◽  
pp. 171-188
Author(s):  
Maureen H. Murray ◽  
Sonia M. Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Disease Dynamics ◽  
Host Abundance ◽  
Pathogen Persistence ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Type Of Land Use ◽  
Avian Disease

Birds live on a human-dominated planet. Over half of Earth’s ice-free land area has been modified by anthropogenic disturbance including deforestation, agriculture, and urbanization, impacting ecosystems around the world. Disturbances associated with these land use types, such as habitat loss, fragmentation, and pollution, influence the dynamics between birds, their pathogens, and the environment they share. Such shifts in disease dynamics can arise through the impacts of land use change on aspects of hosts, vectors, and/or pathogens, including vector and host abundance, behavior, and physiology, and through pathogen persistence in the environment. To address this complexity, the major causes of land use change that can impact birds across diverse ecosystems are described. The chapter then discusses key changes associated with land use change such as habitat loss, pollution, and anthropogenic resources that are relevant to avian disease ecology. These key changes are followed by a synthesis of documented changes in avian health with urbanization, the fastest growing type of land use change on Earth. The chapter closes with relevant implications for One Health systems and future directions for advancing avian disease ecology in rapidly changing landscapes.

8. Looking ahead

2015 ◽  
pp. 97-106
Author(s):  
Marta L. Wayne ◽  
Benjamin M. Bolker
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Disease Management ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Zoonotic Diseases ◽  
Transmission Control ◽  
Living Things ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
The Impact

‘Looking ahead’ shows how our understanding of disease ecology and evolution has revolutionized disease management. By developing transmission control strategies to close the encounter filter and vaccines and treatments to close the compatibility filter, we have reduced the misery caused by infectious disease. But what is the outlook for the future control of infectious diseases? We cannot eradicate infectious disease. Living things have parasitized one another since the beginning of life itself. New zoonotic diseases will continue to emerge, and existing diseases will continually evolve to escape our methods of control. Despite this stark reality, we can minimize the impact of disease even if we can never fully conquer it.

Influence of historical and contemporary habitat changes on the population genetics of the endemic South African parrot Poicephalus robustus

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-259
Author(s):  
WILLEM G. COETZER ◽  
COLLEEN T. DOWNS ◽  
MIKE R. PERRIN ◽  
SANDI WILLOWS-MUNRO
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Source Population ◽  
Population Bottlenecks ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Fragmented Forests

SummaryThe Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus is a habitat specialist, restricted to forest patches in the Eastern Cape (EC), KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. Recent census estimates suggest that there are less than 1,600 parrots left in the wild, although historical data suggest that the species was once more numerous. Fragmentation of the forest biome is strongly linked to climate change and exploitation of the forest by the timber industry. We examine the subpopulation structure and connectivity between fragmented populations across the distribution of the species. Differences in historical and contemporary genetic structure of Cape Parrots is examined by including both modern samples, collected from 1951 to 2014, and historical samples, collected from 1870 to 1946. A total of 114 individuals (historical = 29; contemporary = 85) were genotyped using 16 microsatellite loci. We tested for evidence of partitioning of genotypes at both a temporal and spatial scales by comparing shifts in allelic frequencies of historical (1870–1946) and contemporary (1951–2014) samples across the distribution of the species. Tests for population bottlenecks were also conducted to determine if anthropogenic causes are the main driver of population decline in this species. Analyses identified three geographically correlated genetic clusters. A southern group restricted to forest patches in the EC, a central group including birds from KZN and a genetically distinct northern Limpopo cluster. Results suggest that Cape Parrots have experienced at least two population bottlenecks. An ancient decline during the mid-Holocene (∼ 1,800-3,000 years before present) linked to climate change, and a more recent bottleneck, associated with logging of forests during the early 1900s. This study highlights the effects of climate change and human activities on an endangered species associated with the naturally fragmented forests of eastern South Africa. These results will aid conservation authorities with the planning and implementation of future conservation initiatives. In particular, this study emphasises the Eastern Cape mistbelt forests as an important source population for the species and calls for stronger conservation of forest patches in South Africa to promote connectivity of forest taxa.

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