Emerging infectious diseases can have devastating effects on host communities, causing population collapse and species extinctions. The timing of novel pathogen arrival into naïve species communities can have consequential effects that shape the trajectory of epidemics through populations. Pathogen introductions are often presumed to occur when hosts are highly mobile. However, spread patterns can be influenced by a multitude of other factors including host body condition and infectiousness. White‐nose syndrome (WNS) is a seasonal emerging infectious disease of bats, which is caused by the fungal pathogen We found that midwinter arrival of the fungus predominated spread patterns, suggesting that bats were most likely to spread Our results suggest that low infectiousness during host migration may have reduced the rate of expansion of this deadly pathogen, and that elevated infectiousness during winter plays a key role in seasonal transmission. Furthermore, our results highlight the importance of both accurate estimation of the timing of pathogen spread and the consequences of varying arrival times to prevent and mitigate the effects of infectious diseases.
Emerging infectious diseases have caused population declines and biodiversity loss. The ability of pathogens to survive in the environment, independent of their host, can exacerbate disease impacts and increase the likelihood of species extinction. Control of pathogens with environmental stages remains a significant challenge for conservation and effective management strategies are urgently needed. We examined the effectiveness of managing environmental exposure to reduce the impacts of an emerging infectious disease of bats, white‐nose syndrome (WNS). We used a chemical disinfectant, chlorine dioxide (ClO2), to experimentally reduce ClO2was effective at killing The reduction in the environmental reservoir at treatment sites resulted in lower fungal loads on bats compared to untreated control populations. Survival following treatment was also higher in little brown bats (
- Award ID(s):
- 1911853
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10411045
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Applied Ecology
- Volume:
- 60
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0021-8901
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 923-933
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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