Risk factors for Lyme disease: A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity
Biodiversity can influence disease risk. One example of a diversity-disease relationship is the dilution effect, which suggests higher host species diversity (often indexed by species richness) reduces disease risk. While numerous studies support the dilution effect, its generality remains controver...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X22001753 |
| _version_ | 1797637615228289024 |
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| author | Yingying X.G. Wang Kevin D. Matson Herbert H.T. Prins Yanjie Xu Zheng Y.X. Huang Willem F. de Boer |
| author_facet | Yingying X.G. Wang Kevin D. Matson Herbert H.T. Prins Yanjie Xu Zheng Y.X. Huang Willem F. de Boer |
| author_sort | Yingying X.G. Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biodiversity can influence disease risk. One example of a diversity-disease relationship is the dilution effect, which suggests higher host species diversity (often indexed by species richness) reduces disease risk. While numerous studies support the dilution effect, its generality remains controversial. Most studies of diversity-disease relationships have overlooked the potential importance of phylogenetic diversity. Furthermore, most studies have tested diversity-disease relationships at one spatial scale, even though such relationships are likely scale dependent. Using Lyme disease as a model system, we investigated the effects of host species richness and phylogenetic relatedness on the number of reported Lyme disease cases in humans in the U.S.A. at two spatial scales (the county level and the state level) using piecewise structural equation modelling. We also accounted for relevant climatic and habitat-related factors and tested their correlations with the number of Lyme disease cases. We found that species assemblages with more related species (i.e., host species in the order Rodentia) were associated with more Lyme disease cases in humans. Host species richness correlated negatively with the number of Lyme disease cases at the state level (i.e., a dilution effect), a pattern that might be explained by the higher number of reservoir-incompetent species at high levels of species richness at this larger spatial scale. In contrast, a positive correlation was found between species richness and the number of Lyme disease cases at the county level, where a higher proportion of rodent species was associated with higher levels of species richness, potentially amplifying the disease risk. Our results highlight that analyse at a single spatial scale can miss some impacts of biodiversity on human health. Thus, multi-scale analyses with consideration of host phylogenetic diversity are critical for improving our understanding of diversity-disease relationships. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:50:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a7d18b7718984c83b3efdc395bedf851 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1877-9603 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:50:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-a7d18b7718984c83b3efdc395bedf8512023-11-04T04:18:32ZengElsevierTicks and Tick-Borne Diseases1877-96032023-01-01141102073Risk factors for Lyme disease: A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversityYingying X.G. Wang0Kevin D. Matson1Herbert H.T. Prins2Yanjie Xu3Zheng Y.X. Huang4Willem F. de Boer5Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, Netherlands; Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, FinlandWildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, NetherlandsDepartment of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 WD Wageningen, NetherlandsWildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, Netherlands; Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, 17, 00014, FinlandCollege of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 210046 Nanjing, China; Corresponding author at: Nanjing Normal University, Wenyuan Road 1, Nanjing 210046, China.Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, NetherlandsBiodiversity can influence disease risk. One example of a diversity-disease relationship is the dilution effect, which suggests higher host species diversity (often indexed by species richness) reduces disease risk. While numerous studies support the dilution effect, its generality remains controversial. Most studies of diversity-disease relationships have overlooked the potential importance of phylogenetic diversity. Furthermore, most studies have tested diversity-disease relationships at one spatial scale, even though such relationships are likely scale dependent. Using Lyme disease as a model system, we investigated the effects of host species richness and phylogenetic relatedness on the number of reported Lyme disease cases in humans in the U.S.A. at two spatial scales (the county level and the state level) using piecewise structural equation modelling. We also accounted for relevant climatic and habitat-related factors and tested their correlations with the number of Lyme disease cases. We found that species assemblages with more related species (i.e., host species in the order Rodentia) were associated with more Lyme disease cases in humans. Host species richness correlated negatively with the number of Lyme disease cases at the state level (i.e., a dilution effect), a pattern that might be explained by the higher number of reservoir-incompetent species at high levels of species richness at this larger spatial scale. In contrast, a positive correlation was found between species richness and the number of Lyme disease cases at the county level, where a higher proportion of rodent species was associated with higher levels of species richness, potentially amplifying the disease risk. Our results highlight that analyse at a single spatial scale can miss some impacts of biodiversity on human health. Thus, multi-scale analyses with consideration of host phylogenetic diversity are critical for improving our understanding of diversity-disease relationships.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X22001753Lyme diseaseDilution effectHost species richnessHost phylogenetic diversityHabitat fragmentationClimatic variables |
| spellingShingle | Yingying X.G. Wang Kevin D. Matson Herbert H.T. Prins Yanjie Xu Zheng Y.X. Huang Willem F. de Boer Risk factors for Lyme disease: A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases Lyme disease Dilution effect Host species richness Host phylogenetic diversity Habitat fragmentation Climatic variables |
| title | Risk factors for Lyme disease: A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity |
| title_full | Risk factors for Lyme disease: A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity |
| title_fullStr | Risk factors for Lyme disease: A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Risk factors for Lyme disease: A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity |
| title_short | Risk factors for Lyme disease: A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity |
| title_sort | risk factors for lyme disease a scale dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity |
| topic | Lyme disease Dilution effect Host species richness Host phylogenetic diversity Habitat fragmentation Climatic variables |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X22001753 |
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