Parasite vulnerability to climate change: an evidence-based functional trait approach

Cizauskas, Carrie A.; Carlson, Colin J.; Burgio, Kevin R.; Clements, Christopher F.; Dougherty, Eric R.; Harris, Nyeema C.; Phillips, Anna J.

doi:10.1098/rsos.160535

Cited by 100 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 102 publications

(139 reference statements)

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“…The size of the LNHM data allows for the creation of global helminth parasite richness maps at the country level. Understanding species global distributions is a pressing need given land use change and an accelerating rate of species extinctions (Carlson et al, ; Cizauskas et al, ; Pimm et al, ). Further, understanding hotspots of parasite richness and diversity is a first step toward understanding spatial variation in transmission risk and parasite spillover (Poulin, Guilhaumon, Randhawa, Luque, & Mouillot, ; Poulin, Krasnov, Mouillot, & Thieltges, ).…”

Section: Helminth Macroecological Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gauging support for macroecological patterns in helminth parasites

Dallas

Aguirre

Budischak

et al. 2018

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim To explore spatial patterns of helminth parasite diversity, and to investigate three main macroecological patterns – (a) latitude–diversity relationships, (b) positive scaling between parasite and host diversity, and (c) species–area relationships – using a largely underutilized global database of helminth parasite occurrence records. Location Global. Methods We examined the London Natural History Museum’s collection of helminth parasite occurrence records, consisting of over 18,000 unique host species and 27,000 unique helminth parasite species distributed across over 350 distinct terrestrial and aquatic localities. Results We find support for latitudinal gradients in parasite diversity and a strong relationship between host and parasite diversity at the global scale. Helminth species diversity–area relationships were not detectable as a function of host body mass, but larger geographic areas supported higher parasite richness, potentially mediated through higher host richness. Main conclusions Our findings indicate that helminth parasites may obey some of the macroecological relationships found in free‐living species, suggesting that parasites may offer further support for the generality of these patterns, while offering interesting counterexamples for others. We conclude with a discussion of future directions and potential challenges in the newly emerging macroecology of infectious disease.

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Section: Helminth Macroecological Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gauging support for macroecological patterns in helminth parasites

Dallas

Aguirre

Budischak

et al. 2018

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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“…Despite this expectation, different parasitic taxa across multiple host taxa show varying LDG patterns (see below). Given the changes in projected distributional range and species abundance (Altizer et al 2013), extinctions (Cizauskas et al 2017), secondary extinctions and coextinctions (Colwell et al 2012a) predicted with global climate and anthropogenic changes, the need to document parasite diversity is pressing and critical to increasing our knowledge of the biodiversity, biogeographical patterns and ecology of parasitic organisms before this biodiversity is lost. With around 40% of known biodiversity estimates representing parasitic species and an estimated 75 000-300 000+ species of helminths (parasitic nematodes, trematodes, cestodes and acanthocephalans) alone (Dobson et al 2008), the need to document the biodiversity of parasitic organisms is certainly no less than that of free-living species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latitudinal gradients of parasite richness: a review and new insights from helminths of cricetid rodents

Preisser

2019

Ecography

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The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), or the trend of higher species richness at lower latitudes, has been well documented in multiple groups of free-living organisms. Investigations of the LDG in parasitic organisms are comparatively scarce. Here, I investigated latitudinal patterns of parasite diversity by reviewing published studies and by conducting a novel investigation of the LDG of helminths (parasitic nematodes, trematodes and cestodes) of cricetid rodents (Rodentia: Cricetidae). Using host-parasite records from 175 parasite communities and 60 host species, I tested for the presence and direction of a latitudinal pattern of helminth richness. Additionally, I examined four abiotic factors (mean annual temperature, annual precipitation, annual temperature range and annual precipitation range) and two biotic variables (host body mass and host diet) as potential correlates of parasite richness. The analyses were performed with and without phylogenetic comparative methods, as necessary. In this system, helminths followed the traditional LDG, with increasing species richness with decreasing latitude. Nematode richness appeared to drive this pattern, as cestodes and trematodes exhibited a reverse LDG and no latitudinal pattern, respectively. Overall helminth richness and nematode richness were higher in areas with higher mean annual temperatures, annual precipitation and annual precipitation ranges and lower annual temperature ranges, characteristics that often typify lower latitudes. Cestode richness was higher in areas of lower mean annual temperatures, annual precipitation and annual precipitation ranges and higher annual temperature ranges, while trematode richness showed no relationship with climate variables when phylogenetic comparative methods were used. Host diet was significantly correlated with cestode and trematode species richness, while host body mass was significantly correlated with nematode species richness. Results of this study support a complex association between parasite richness and latitude, and indicate that researchers should carefully consider other factors when trying to understand diversity gradients in parasitic organisms.

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“…Integrating phylogenetics with community ecology could help in understanding patterns of host phylogenetic clustering and overdispersion across spatiotemporal scales. This holds great potential for the development of new tools to predict parasite host breadths (H P and H O in our proposed framework), a key component of understanding disease transmission dynamics at the landscape level [56,77]. Additionally, ecophylogenetics may provide insights on potential spillover events that could result in disease emergence, a highly relevant topic under global change and increased international movement of species leading to shifts in host communities and translocation of parasites to new areas and hosts [79,80].…”

Section: From Disease Distributions To Risk Mappingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Selection of ecologically relevant predictor variables is necessary to generate reliable modeling outputs and should be supported by the biology of the species and the spatiotemporal scale at hand [26,55]. Variables directly affecting a species' physiology are preferred since their relationships with its geographic distribution are assumed to be stable across spatiotemporal scales [26,56]. Indirect variables may be employed as proxies for direct variables, although these should be avoided if they are correlated with factors driving the demography, dispersal, or distribution of biotic interactors [26].…”

Section: Environmental Predictorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ecological Framework for Modeling the Geography of Disease Transmission

Johnson

Escobar

Zambrana‐Torrelio

2019

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

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Ecological niche modeling (ENM) is widely employed in ecology to predict species' potential geographic distributions in relation to their environmental constraints and is rapidly becoming the gold-standard method for disease risk mapping. However, given the biological complexity of disease systems, the traditional ENM framework requires reevaluation. We provide an overview of the application of ENM to disease systems and propose a theoretical framework based on the biological properties of both hosts and parasites to produce reliable outputs resembling disease system distributions. Additionally, we discuss the differences between biological considerations when implementing ENM for distributional ecology and epidemiology. This new framework will help the field of disease ecology and applications of biogeography in the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Challenges and Opportunities to Map Disease RiskThe recent rise of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) (see Glossary) [1] has increased the burden of infectious diseases and negatively impacted the global economy [2][3][4][5]. Approximately 60% of emerging human diseases are caused by pathogenic parasites of animal origin (zoonoses), particularly wildlife [6]. As human activities intensify, contact with wildlife and exposure to novel parasites increase, potentially driving zoonotic disease emergence [1,7]. Given the threat that EIDs pose to human populations, understanding the underlying drivers of parasite geographic distribution and their spillover to humans is particularly relevant for epidemiologists, public-health practitioners, and policy makers [9].Ecological niche modeling (ENM) has proven useful to forecast the distribution of a vast number of organisms [10-13] and is increasingly employed to predict parasite distributions locally and globally [14][15][16][17]. Despite great strides made in the implementation of ENM to forecast complex biological phenomena such as disease systems [18], traditional frameworks may render biologically unrealistic predictions and thus must be revised, as we show in this review. We provide an overview of the current state of disease ENM and propose a framework based on the biological properties of both parasites and hosts to produce reliable outputs resembling disease systems distributions. Specifically, our theoretical framework: (i) addresses the selection of an appropriate modeling approach and highlights the importance of including biologically sound predictor variables; (ii) proposes the concept of a microscale parasitic niche defined by host traits to identify relevant parasite-host associations; and (iii) integrates traditional parasite ENM with the proposed microscale niche to better understand geographic distributions and improve fine-scale predictions of disease transmission risk. ENM and Biotic InteractionsENM estimates the distributions of species by linking their geographic occurrence with their environmental constraints, often utilizing correlative approaches (detailed explanations in [18]). Highlights

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Parasite vulnerability to climate change: an evidence-based functional trait approach

Cited by 100 publications

References 102 publications

Gauging support for macroecological patterns in helminth parasites

Gauging support for macroecological patterns in helminth parasites

Latitudinal gradients of parasite richness: a review and new insights from helminths of cricetid rodents

An Ecological Framework for Modeling the Geography of Disease Transmission

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