Cited by 168Amphibian and Reptile BiologyParasite Biology and Host InteractionsEnvironmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology

Ecophysiology meets conservation: understanding the role of disease in amphibian population declines

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Blaustein, Andrew R., Gervasi, Stephanie S., Johnson, Pieter T. J., Hoverman, Jason T., Belden, Lisa K., Bradley, Paul W., Xie, Gisselle Y.·2012·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Abstract

Infectious diseases are intimately associated with the dynamics of biodiversity. However, the role that infectious disease plays within ecological communities is complex. The complex effects of infectious disease at the scale of communities and ecosystems are driven by the interaction between host and pathogen. Whether or not a given host–pathogen interaction results in progression from infection to disease is largely dependent on the physiological characteristics of the host within the context of the external environment. Here, we highlight the importance of understanding the outcome of infection and disease in the context of host ecophysiology using amphibians as a model system. Amphibians are ideal for such a discussion because many of their populations are experiencing declines and extinctions, with disease as an important factor implicated in many declines and extinctions. Exposure to pathogens and the host's responses to infection can be influenced by many factors related to physiology such as host life history, immunology, endocrinology, resource acquisition, behaviour and changing climates. In our review, we discuss the relationship between disease and biodiversity. We highlight the dynamics of three amphibian host–pathogen systems that induce different effects on hosts and life stages and illustrate the complexity of amphibian–host–parasite systems. We then review links between environmental stress, endocrine–immune interactions, disease and climate change.

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Crossref · 10.1098/rstb.2012.0011

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  • Based on our literature searches, no studies have explored reductions in arthropod prey as a possible causal mechanism behind amphibian declines, nor the possibility that malnutrition could interact with rising temperature and drought, compounding the impacts of disease through depression of immunocompetence.

    “Based on our literature searches, no studies have explored reductions in arthropod prey as a possible causal mechanism behind amphibian declines, nor the possibility that malnutrition could interact with rising temperature and drought, compounding the impacts of disease through depression of immunocompetence (83).”

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2 of the 249 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

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  1. Hatcher, M. J., Dick, J. T. A. & Dunn, A. M. In press. Diverse effects of parasites in ecosystems. Front. Ecol. Evol.
  2. Ostfeld, R., Keesing, F. & Eviner, V. T. 2008 Infectious disease ecology: the effects of ecosystems on disease and of dis- ease on ecosystems. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  3. Chinchar, G. D., Essbauer, S., He, J. G., Hyatt, A., Miyazaki, T., Seligy, V. & Williams, T. 2005 Iridoviri- dae. In Virus taxonomy: 8th report of the Int. committee on the taxonomy of viruses (eds C. M. Fauguet, M. A. Mayo, J. Maniloff, U. Desselberger & L. A. Ball), pp. 163-175. London, UK: Elsevier.
  4. Carey, C., Pessier, A. P. & Peace, A. D. 2003 Pathogens, infectious disease, and immune defenses. In Amphibian conservation (ed. R. D. Semlitsch), pp. 127 -136. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institute.
  5. Converse, K. A. & Green, D. E. 2005 Diseases of tad- poles. In Wildlife diseases: landscape epidemiology, spatial distribution and utilization of remote sensing technology (eds S. K. Majumdar, J. E. Huffman, F. J. Brenner & A. I. Panah), pp. 72-88. Easton, PA: Penn. Acad. Science.
  6. Rohr, J. R., Raffel, T. R. & Sessions, S. K. 2009 Dige- netic trematodes and their relationship to amphibian declines and deformities. In Amphibian biology, vol. 8. Amphibian decline: diseases, parasites, maladies, and pollution (eds H. Heatwole & J. W. Wilkinson), pp. 3067-3088. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty & Sons.
  7. Rosenblum, E. B., Stajich, J. E., Maddox, N. & Eisen, M. B. 2008 Global gene expression profile for life stages of the deadly amphibian pathogen Batcaho- chytrium dendrobatidis. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 17 034-17 -039. 176
  8. Paull, S. H. & Johnson, P. T. J. In press. Predicting the synergies between climate change and infectious dis- ease. In Conserving wildlife populations in a changing climate (eds J. Brodie, E. Post & D. Doak). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 238

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Authors
Blaustein, A. R., Gervasi, S. S., Johnson, P. T. J., Hoverman, J. T., Belden, L. K., Bradley, P. W., & Xie, G. Y.
Affiliations
  • Oregon State University (US)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
  • Virginia Tech (US)
Corresponding author
Blaustein, Andrew R.
Venue
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Published
2012-06-19
Volume
367
Issue
1596
Pages
1688-1707
ISSN
  • 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-2970
OpenAlex
W2157592422
Cited by
168
References
249
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 8
FWCI
1.25
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Amphibian and Reptile Biology
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
Keywords
amphibian decline, infectious diseases, host-pathogen interaction, amphibian conservation, biodiversity, endocrine-immune interaction, climate change, environmental stress, host life history, amphibian extinction
MeSH terms
Amphibians, Animals, Conservation of Natural Resources, Ecology, Chytridiomycota, Mycoses, Population Dynamics, Stress, Physiological, Trematoda, Trematode Infections, Virus Diseases, Ecosystem, Ranavirus, Extinction, Biological, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Climate Change, Disease Resistance

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