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Water sources aggregate parasites with increasing effects in more arid conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Georgia Titcomb

    (University of California
    Mpala Research Centre)

  • John Naisikie Mantas

    (Mpala Research Centre)

  • Jenna Hulke

    (Texas A&M University)

  • Ivan Rodriguez

    (University of California)

  • Douglas Branch

    (University of the West of England)

  • Hillary Young

    (University of California
    Mpala Research Centre)

Abstract

Shifts in landscape heterogeneity and climate can influence animal movement in ways that profoundly alter disease transmission. Water sources that are foci of animal activity have great potential to promote disease transmission, but it is unknown how this varies across a range of hosts and climatic contexts. For fecal-oral parasites, water resources can aggregate many different hosts in small areas, concentrate infectious material, and function as disease hotspots. This may be exacerbated where water is scarce and for species requiring frequent water access. Working in an East African savanna, we show via experimental and observational methods that water sources increase the density of wild and domestic herbivore feces and thus, the concentration of fecal-oral parasites in the environment, by up to two orders of magnitude. We show that this effect is amplified in drier areas and drier periods, creating dynamic and heterogeneous disease landscapes across space and time. We also show that herbivore grazing behaviors that expose them to fecal-oral parasites often increase at water sources relative to background sites, increasing potential parasite transmission at these hotspots. Critically, this effect varies by herbivore species, with strongest effects for two animals of concern for conservation and development: elephants and cattle.

Suggested Citation

  • Georgia Titcomb & John Naisikie Mantas & Jenna Hulke & Ivan Rodriguez & Douglas Branch & Hillary Young, 2021. "Water sources aggregate parasites with increasing effects in more arid conditions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-27352-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27352-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Nunn, Charles L. & Thrall, Peter H. & Kappeler, Peter M., 2014. "Shared resources and disease dynamics in spatially structured populations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 272(C), pages 198-207.
    3. Jianping Huang & Haipeng Yu & Xiaodan Guan & Guoyin Wang & Ruixia Guo, 2016. "Accelerated dryland expansion under climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(2), pages 166-171, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pritchard, Alexander J. & Fefferman, Nina H., 2023. "Trade-offs in resource access and health by avoidance of self-fouling, motivated via disgust," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 476(C).

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