Pollution can drive marine diseases

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Bojko ◽  
Erin K. Lipp ◽  
Alex T. Ford ◽  
Donald C. Behringer
Keyword(s):  
Host Range ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Disease Prevalence ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Disease Dynamics ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection

Humans pollute the marine environment biologically, chemically, and physically, which can potentially drive or facilitate the emergence, proliferation, or impact of disease. This chapter synthesizes what is known about the effects of biological (e.g., wastewater), chemical (e.g., pharmaceuticals), and physical (e.g., sound/light) pollution on marine disease dynamics. The presence of these pollutants has been found to alter disease prevalence, increase host susceptibility to infection, and alter the spread and host range of different diseases. Despite the importance of the marine environment as a primary food source for humans, many complexities linking disease ecology and pollution are yet to be explored. Future investigation of these connections would benefit from an integrated approach using experimental, environmental, molecular, and pathological methods.

Behavior Shapes Infectious Disease Dynamics in Birds

2021 ◽  
pp. 53-76
Author(s):  
Andrea K. Townsend ◽  
Dana M. Hawley
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Parasite Transmission ◽  
Avian Behavior ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Transmission Process ◽  
Individual Personality ◽  
Sickness Behaviors

Parasites both affect and are affected by the behavior of birds. Moreover, specific avian behaviors can either suppress or augment parasite spread, depending on context and parasite transmission mode. The chapter focuses on major categories of behavior important for the key steps of the parasite transmission process: first, the likelihood of exposure to parasites; second, host susceptibility to infection and degree of infectiousness reached once exposed; and third, the likelihood of spreading infection to other hosts or vectors. The chapter begins by discussing behaviors that birds use to minimize exposure to parasites (e.g., preening and other ‘antiparasite’ behaviors) and the immediate effects of infection on behavior (e.g., lethargy and other ‘sickness’ behaviors). The focus then truns to foraging and movement, which are specific behaviors that both can increase exposure to parasites and are altered by infection. Finally, the chapter considers how a suite of behaviors including social interactions, individual personality, and mating behaviors can affect and are affected by parasites in ways relevant to all three steps of the parasite transmission process. Throughout, the chapter highlights and integrates areas in which recent advances have been made or for which more data are sorely needed in avian systems, emphasizing directions for future research at the intersection of avian behavior and infectious disease ecology.

Intestinal microbiota balance modulates host susceptibility to infection with enteric pathogenss

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
I Sekirov ◽  
N Tam ◽  
M Robertson ◽  
C Lupp ◽  
B Finlay
Keyword(s):  
Intestinal Microbiota ◽  
Small Animal ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Morphological Development ◽  
Future Design ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Colonic Microbiota ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Serovar Typhimurium ◽  
Intestinal Pathogens

Background: During our lifetimes we develop a very complex set of interactions with the multitude of microorganisms colonizing our bodies. In the gastrointestinal system, the microbiota is highly important for morphological development, nutrition, and protection against infectious diseases. The gastrointestinal pathogens, enterohemorrhagic and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EHEC and EPEC) and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST) are food-borne pathogens that cause much morbidity and mortality worldwide. Citrobacter rodentium (Cr) is a mouse pathogen that is used in small animal models to mimic EHEC and EPEC infections. Methods: We began to characterize the contribution of intestinal microbiota to the progression of these infections. Two main phyla comprise the majority of mouse intestinal microbiota: Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Bacteria from a number of additional phyla are also present in smaller numbers; among them γ-Proteobacteria class, belonging to Proteobacteria phylum, is note-worthy as this class harbours many intestinal pathogens, such as ST and Cr. The mouse intestinal microbiota was perturbed using tetracycline (Tet) and streptomycin (Sm) to increase the proportion of Bacteroidetes in the colonic microbiota, and using vancomycin (Vanc) to create a predominance of Firmicutes. The mice with this perturbed microbiota were infected with ST to investigate the resultant pathology and virulence characteristics, and any additional shifts in microbiota as a result of infection. Results: Treatment of mice with Sm and Vanc was found to decrease the resistance of mice to colonization with ST, while Tet-treated mice exhibited unchanged colonization resistance. Treatment of mice with gradually increasing doses of Sm, which gradually augmented the proportion of CFB bacteria in the microbiota, resulted in progressively increasing colonization of mice by ST, as well as a step-wise increase in the ST-induced typhlitis, associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers IL-6 and KC. The increasing levels of ST colonization following both Sm and Vanc treatment were associated with an increase in the proportion of γ-Proteobacteria in the cecal and colonic microbiota, as well as a decrease in the total bacterial numbers in both organs. Conclusions: It is evident that the intestinal microbiota plays a significant role in the host’s response to infection with enteric pathogens, and its composition and numbers are also affected by the offending bacteria. Elucidation of the details regarding the contribution of the microbiota to infectious disease progression will offer novel targets for the future design of superior prevention and treatment methods.

Explaining variability in parasite aggregation levels among host samples

Parasitology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Parasite Aggregation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Host Body Size

SUMMARYAggregated distributions among individual hosts are a defining feature of metazoan parasite populations. Heterogeneity among host individuals in exposure to parasites or in susceptibility to infection is thought to be the main factor generating aggregation, with properties of parasites themselves explaining some of the variability in aggregation levels observed among species. Here, using data from 410 samples of helminth parasites on fish hosts, I tested the contribution of (i) within-sample variation in host body size, taken as a proxy for variability in host susceptibility, and (ii) parasite taxon and developmental stage, to the aggregated distribution of parasites. Log-transformed variance in numbers of parasites per host was regressed against log mean number across all samples; the strong relationship (r2 = 0·88) indicated that aggregation levels are tightly constrained by mean infection levels, and that only a small proportion of the observed variability in parasite aggregation levels remains to be accounted for by other factors. Using the residuals of this regression as measures of ‘unexplained’ aggregation, a mixed effects model revealed no significant effect of within-sample variation in host body size or of parasite taxon or stage (i.e. juvenile versus adult) on parasite aggregation level within a sample. However, much of the remaining variability in parasite aggregation levels among samples was accounted for by the number of individual hosts examined per sample, and species-specific and study-specific effects reflecting idiosyncrasies of particular systems. This suggests that with most differences in aggregation among samples already explained, there may be little point in seeking universal causes for the remaining variation.

scholarly journals Changing Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Dynamics Through Time in Montastraea cavernosa

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Aeby ◽  
Blake Ushijima ◽  
Erich Bartels ◽  
Cory Walter ◽  
Joseph Kuehl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Common Species ◽  
Disease Prevalence ◽  
Tissue Loss ◽  
Coral Tissue ◽  
Disease Dynamics ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Fort Lauderdale ◽  
Stony Coral ◽  
Montastraea Cavernosa ◽  
Lesion Morphology

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is affecting corals across the Western Atlantic and displays species-specific and regional differences in prevalence, incidence, degree of mortality, and lesion morphology. We examined two Florida sites with different temporal histories of disease emergence; Fort Lauderdale where SCTLD is endemic and the Lower Florida Keys where SCTLD has recently emerged. Our objectives were to (1) assess the potential impact of SCTLD on overall reef condition by surveying reefs in each region, (2) in a single common species, Montastraea cavernosa, examine differences in SCTLD prevalence, colony mortality, and lesion morphology in each region, and (3) look for differences in contagion by conducting transmission experiments using lesions from each region. Reef surveys found sites in both regions had low coral cover, high algae cover, and similar coral species composition. SCTLD prevalence was higher in the Lower Keys than at Fort Lauderdale and two of the common species, M. cavernosa and S. siderea at Fort Lauderdale were dominated by smaller colonies (<5 cm) whereas larger colonies occurred in the Lower Keys. Tagged M. cavernosa SCTLD-affected colonies were followed for 2 years at one site in each region. In both years, Fort Lauderdale colonies showed declining disease prevalence, low colony mortality, and disease lesions were mainly bleached spots lacking tissue loss. In contrast, Lower Keys colonies tagged in the first year maintained 100% disease prevalence with high mortality, and disease lesions were predominantly tissue loss with no bleached edges. However, SCTLD dynamics changed, with year two tagged colonies showing declining disease prevalence, low mortality, and lesion morphology switched to a mixture of bleached polyps and tissue loss with or without bleached edges. Lesion morphology on colonies was a significant predictor of amount of tissue loss. Aquaria studies found the rate of SCTLD transmission using lesions from the different zones (emergent and endemic) were similar. Our study highlights that differences in coral mortality from SCTLD are not necessarily linked to host species, lesion morphology is reflective of subsequent rate of mortality, and disease dynamics change through time on reefs where the disease has newly emerged.

scholarly journals Pearl Oyster: From National Icon To Guardian of Qatar's Marine Environment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Leitao BenHamadou1 ◽  
Zenaba Khatir ◽  
Noora Al-Shamary ◽  
Hassan Hassan ◽  
Zainab Hizan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Environment ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Pearl Oyster ◽  
Ecological Effects ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
National Icon ◽  
Biological Methods ◽  
First Time

The NPRP9-394-1-090 project “Pearl Oyster: from national icon to guardian of Qatar's marine environment” had as main aim to develop and apply an integrated suite of chemical and biological methods as early warning tools to assess the “health” of Qatar’s marine environment. The central theme consisted in an investigative monitoring program around the use of the pearl oyster, Pictada imbricata radiata, as a sentinel or guardian species. We have characterized the main environmental contaminants of concern at a selected number of sites around the Qatari coast (UmmBab, Al Khor, Al Wakra and Simaisma), during 2 years, in summer and winter. Potential ecological effects of contaminants (targeted and untargeted) were investigated at different biological organization levels (gene, chromosome, cell, individual, population), through a multidisciplinary approach, using classical and genotoxicological endpoints, integrative histopathology and transcriptomic responses to the different environmental stresses. To our knowledge, this is the first time an integrated approach connecting all these disciplines has been applied in the Qatari marine environment. We present here the main results, of this 3 years project, obtained in all different disciplinary approaches. The results of this project will leave a legacy of resources for future Qatari researchers, including an open access transcriptome data base and the first description of common pathologies observed in the pearl oyster P. i. radiata. Moreover, they will also represent a sound science-based baseline data essential for conservation and management planning, by integration of the data from all the different disciplines applied in the project to assess the potential ecological effects of contaminants at different biological levels.

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.

scholarly journals Prior exposure to long-day photoperiods alters immune responses and increases susceptibility to parasitic infection in stickleback

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1930) ◽  
pp. 20201017
Author(s):  
James R. Whiting ◽  
Muayad A. Mahmud ◽  
Janette E. Bradley ◽  
Andrew D. C. MacColl
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Day Length ◽  
Previous Exposure ◽  
Parasite Abundance ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Long Day ◽  
Host Parasite

Seasonal disease and parasitic infection are common across organisms, including humans, and there is increasing evidence for intrinsic seasonal variation in immune systems. Changes are orchestrated through organisms' physiological clocks using cues such as day length. Ample research in diverse taxa has demonstrated multiple immune responses are modulated by photoperiod, but to date, there have been few experimental demonstrations that photoperiod cues alter susceptibility to infection. We investigated the interactions among photoperiod history, immunity and susceptibility in laboratory-bred three-spined stickleback (a long-day breeding fish) and its external, directly reproducing monogenean parasite Gyrodactylus gasterostei . We demonstrate that previous exposure to long-day photoperiods (PLD) increases susceptibility to infection relative to previous exposure to short days (PSD), and modifies the response to infection for the mucin gene muc2 and Treg cytokine foxp3a in skin tissues in an intermediate 12 L : 12 D photoperiod experimental trial. Expression of skin muc2 is reduced in PLD fish, and negatively associated with parasite abundance. We also observe inflammatory gene expression variation associated with natural inter-population variation in resistance, but find that photoperiod modulation of susceptibility is consistent across host populations. Thus, photoperiod modulation of the response to infection is important for host susceptibility, highlighting new mechanisms affecting seasonality of host–parasite interactions.

scholarly journals The emerging contribution of social wasps to grape rot disease ecology

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne A. Madden ◽  
Sean D. Boyden ◽  
Jonathan-Andrew N. Soriano ◽  
Tyler B. Corey ◽  
Jonathan W. Leff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Marker Gene ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Polistes Dominulus ◽  
Sour Rot ◽  
Rot Disease

Grape sour (bunch) rot is a polymicrobial disease of vineyards that causes millions of dollars in lost revenue per year due to decreased quality of grapes and resultant wine. The disease is associated with damaged berries infected with a community of acetic acid bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi that results in rotting berries with high amounts of undesirable volatile acidity. Many insect species cause the initial grape berry damage that can lead to this disease, but most studies have focused on the role of fruit flies in facilitating symptoms and vectoring the microorganisms of this disease complex. Like fruit flies, social wasps are abundant in vineyards where they feed on ripe berries and cause significant damage, while also dispersing yeasts involved in wine fermentation. Despite this, their possible role in disease facilitation and dispersal of grape rots has not been explored. We tested the hypothesis that the paper wasp Polistes dominulus could facilitate grape sour rot in the absence of other insect vectors. Using marker gene sequencing we characterized the bacterial and fungal community of wild-caught adults. We used a sterilized foraging arena to determine if these wasps transfer viable microorganisms when foraging. We then tested if wasps harboring their native microbial community, or those inoculated with sour rot, had an effect on grape sour rot incidence and severity using a laboratory foraging arena. We found that all wasps harbor some portion of the sour rot microbial community and that they have the ability to transfer viable microorganisms when foraging. Foraging by inoculated and uninoculated wasps led to an increase in berry rot disease symptom severity and incidence. Our results indicate that paper wasps can facilitate sour rot diseases in the absence of other vectors and that the mechanism of this facilitation may include both increasing host susceptibility and transmitting these microbial communities to the grapes. Social wasps are understudied but relevant players in the sour rot ecology of vineyards.

scholarly journals Co-infection does not predict disease signs in Gopherus tortoises

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 171003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chava L. Weitzman ◽  
Ryan Gov ◽  
Franziska C. Sandmeier ◽  
Sarah J. Snyder ◽  
C. Richard Tracy
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Infection Intensity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Host Immune System ◽  
Disease Dynamics ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
The Impact

In disease ecology, the host immune system interacts with environmental conditions and pathogen properties to affect the impact of disease on the host. Within the host, pathogens may interact to facilitate or inhibit each other's growth, and pathogens interact with different hosts differently. We investigated co-infection of two Mycoplasma and the association of infection with clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease in four congeneric tortoise host species ( Gopherus ) in the United States to detect differences in infection risk and disease dynamics in these hosts. Mojave Desert tortoises had greater prevalence of Mycoplasma agassizii than Texas tortoises and gopher tortoises, while there were no differences in Mycoplasma testudineum prevalence among host species. In some host species, the presence of each pathogen influenced the infection intensity of the other; hence, these two mycoplasmas interact differently within different hosts, and our results may indicate facilitation of these bacteria. Neither infection nor co-infection was associated with clinical signs of disease, which tend to fluctuate across time. From M. agassizii DNA sequences, we detected no meaningful differentiation of haplotypes among hosts. Experimental inoculation studies and recurrent resampling of wild individuals could help to decipher the underlying mechanisms of disease dynamics in this system.

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