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Large-scale disease patterns explained by climatic seasonality and host traits.
Antoine Filion1, Alan Eriksson2, Fátima Jorge3
1Department of Zoology, University of Otago, 340 Great King St, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand. afilion90@gmail.com.
Oecologia
|October 24, 2020
Summary
Environmental factors synchronizing bird and vector populations are key to understanding avian malaria distribution. Larger bird species also face higher infection risks, highlighting the importance of host traits and spatial overlap in disease ecology.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Disease Ecology
- Macroecology
Background:
- Understanding vector-borne disease distribution is crucial for conservation ecology.
- Macroecological perspectives on disease ecology are understudied.
- Avian malaria (Plasmodium) serves as a model for vector-borne disease transmission.
Purpose of the Study:
- To uncover worldwide infection patterns of avian malaria.
- To identify key factors influencing disease distribution across species and space.
- To investigate the role of environmental variables and host traits in disease susceptibility.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a global disease database.
- Analyzed data from 678 bird species across 442 locations.
- Examined environmental variables, host traits, and spatial overlap.
Main Results:
- Environmental variables synchronizing bird and vector abundance are primary drivers of infection risk.
- Larger bird species exhibit increased susceptibility to avian malaria.
- Host traits and resource allocation trade-offs influence disease susceptibility.
Conclusions:
- Environmental synchrony between hosts and vectors is critical for disease transmission success.
- Host traits, including body size, impact susceptibility to vector-borne diseases.
- Macroecological approaches are essential for understanding global disease patterns and informing conservation strategies.
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