Search

Few infectious diseases are entirely human-specific: Most human pathogens also circulate in animals or else originated in nonhuman hosts. Influenza, plague, and trypanosomiasis are classic examples of zoonotic infections that transmit from animals to humans. The multihost ecology of zoonoses leads to complex dynamics, and analytical tools, such as mathematical modeling, are vital to the development of effective control policies and research agendas. Much attention has focused on modeling pathogens with simpler life cycles and immediate global urgency, such as influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome. Meanwhile, vector-transmitted, chronic, and protozoan infections have been neglected, as have crucial processes such as cross-species transmission. Progress in understanding and combating zoonoses requires a new generation of models that addresses a broader set of pathogen Life histories and integrates across host species and scientific disciplines. doi: 10.1126/science.1177345

Infectious diseases can cause rapid population declines or species extinctions. Many pathogens of terrestrial and marine taxa are sensitive to temperature, rainfall, and humidity, creating synergisms that could affect biodiversity. Climate warming can increase pathogen development and survival rates, disease transmission, and host susceptibility. Although most host-parasite systems are predicted to experience more frequent or severe disease impacts with warming, a subset of pathogens might decline with warming, releasing hosts from disease. Recently, changes in El Nino--Southern Oscillation events have had a detectable influence on marine and terrestrial pathogens, including coral diseases, oyster pathogens, crop pathogens, Rift Valley fever, and human cholera. To improve our ability to predict epidemics in wild populations, it will be necessary to separate the independent and interactive effects of multiple climate drivers on disease impact., Infectious diseases are strong biotic forces that can threaten biodiversity by catalyzing population declines and accelerating extinctions. Pathogens are implicated in recent declines of Australian and Central American frogs (1, [...]

The article discusses the threat posed by road construction in Tanzanian's Katavi National Park to animal populations and tourism revenue, suggesting a potential compromise solution to preserve the park's environment while allowing urban connectivity.

In the catalog of global environmental insults, extinctions stand out as irreversible. Current rates are high and accelerating (1). After a recent conference (2), we concluded that preventing extinctions is [...]

During the next 50 years, which is likely to be the final period of rapid agricultural expansion, demand for food by a wealthier and 50% larger global population will be a major driver of global environmental change. Should past dependences of the global environmental impacts of agriculture on human population and consumption continue, 109 hectares of natural ecosystems would be converted to agriculture by 2050. This would be accompanied by 2.4-to 2.7-fold increases in nitrogen- and phosphorus-driven eutrophication of terrestrial freshwater, and near-shore marine ecosystems, and comparable increases in pesticide use. This eutrophication and habitat destruction would cause unprecedented ecosystem simplification, loss of ecosystem services, and species extinctions. Significant scientific advances and regulatory, technological, and policy changes are needed to control the environmental impacts of agricultural expansion., During the first 35 years of the Green Revolution, global grain production doubled, greatly reducing food shortages, but at high environmental cost (1-5). In addition to its effects on greenhouse [...]

The article informs that investments to prevent tropical deforestation and to limit wildlife trade will protect against future zoonosis outbreaks. It mentions that clear link between deforestation and virus emergence such as COVID-19 pandemic suggests that a major effort to retain intact forest cover would have a large return on investment even if its only benefit was to reduce virus emergence events.

Three species of horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus spp.) have now been officially recorded as the natural reservoir host of the coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) [see the report [...]

IN THEIR POLICY FORUM 'THE CONVENTION on Biological Diversity's 2010 target' (l 4 Jan., p. 212), A. Balmford et al. argue that 'conservation scientists have a lot to learn ... [...]

Most of the time, most of us behave as if our ongoing destruction of biological diversity and natural ecosystems has a net beneficial effect on our personal well-being. This is [...]

Within the next 50 to 100 years, support and maintenance of an extended human family of 8 to 11 billion people will become difficult at best. Our consumption rates already [...]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to comments made on the article "Bats are Natural Reservoirs of SARS-Like Coronaviruses" by W. Li and others, published in the October 28, 2005, issue of the "News Focus."

Presents a letter to the editor related to Dow Jones Shares.

Food-web dynamics arise from predator-prey, parasite-host, and herbivore-plant interactions. Models for such interactions include up to three consumer activity states (questing, attacking, consuming) and up to four resource response states (susceptible, exposed, ingested, resistant). Articulating these states into a general model allows for dissecting, comparing, and deriving consumer-resource models. We specify this general model for 11 generic consumer strategies that group mathematically into predators, parasites, and micropredators and then derive conditions for consumer success, including a universal saturating functional response. We further show how to use this framework to create simple models with a common mathematical lineage and transparent assumptions. Underlying assumptions, missing elements, and composite parameters are revealed when classic consumer-resource models are derived from the general model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response by S. Wasser et al. to a letter to the editor about their article "Elephants, Ivory, and Trade” in the March 12, 2010 issue is presented.

The article discusses illegal trade in elephant ivory and the need for scientifically-based intervention under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Both Tanzania and Zambia, known for elephant poaching and ivory trade, petitioned to relax conservation controls on elephants and ivory. The article's authors call on CITIES to base its evaluation of the petitions on elephant-related ecosystem factors, the use of verification programs to prevent exploitation, and the record of petitioning countries in controlling illegal ivory trade. Conclusions and recommendations are presented regarding processing of the petitions.

The lives lost and economic costs of viral zoonotic pandemics have steadily increased over the past century. Prominent policymakers have promoted plans that argue the best ways to address future pandemic catastrophes should entail, "detecting and containing emerging zoonotic threats." In other words, we should take actions only after humans get sick. We sharply disagree. Humans have extensive contact with wildlife known to harbor vast numbers of viruses, many of which have not yet spilled into humans. We compute the annualized damages from emerging viral zoonoses. We explore three practical actions to minimize the impact of future pandemics: better surveillance of pathogen spillover and development of global databases of virus genomics and serology, better management of wildlife trade, and substantial reduction of deforestation. We find that these primary pandemic prevention actions cost less than 1/20th the value of lives lost each year to emerging viral zoonoses and have substantial cobenefits.

Food-web dynamics arise from predator-prey, parasite-host, and herbivore-plant interactions. Models for such interactions include up to three consumer activity states (questing, attacking, consuming) and up to four resource response states (susceptible, exposed, ingested, resistant). Articulating these states into a general model allows for dissecting, comparing, and deriving consumer-resource models. We specify this general model for 11 generic consumer strategies that group mathematically into predators, parasites, and micropredators and then derive conditions for consumer success, including a universal saturating functional response. We further show how to use this framework to create simple models with a common mathematical lineage and transparent assumptions. Underlying assumptions, missing elements, and composite parameters are revealed when classic consumer-resource models are derived from the general model., (Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)