Title |
West Nile Virus Prevalence across Landscapes Is Mediated by Local Effects of Agriculture on Vector and Host Communities
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Published in |
PLOS ONE, January 2013
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0055006 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
David W. Crowder, Elizabeth A. Dykstra, Jo Marie Brauner, Anne Duffy, Caitlin Reed, Emily Martin, Wade Peterson, Yves Carrière, Pierre Dutilleul, Jeb P. Owen |
Abstract |
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) threaten the health of humans, livestock, and wildlife. West Nile virus (WNV), the world's most widespread arbovirus, invaded the United States in 1999 and rapidly spread across the county. Although the ecology of vectors and hosts are key determinants of WNV prevalence across landscapes, the factors shaping local vector and host populations remain unclear. Here, we used spatially-explicit models to evaluate how three land-use types (orchards, vegetable/forage crops, natural) and two climatic variables (temperature, precipitation) influence the prevalence of WNV infections and vector/host distributions at landscape and local spatial scales. Across landscapes, we show that orchard habitats were associated with greater prevalence of WNV infections in reservoirs (birds) and incidental hosts (horses), while increased precipitation was associated with fewer infections. At local scales, orchard habitats increased the prevalence of WNV infections in vectors (mosquitoes) and the abundance of mosquitoes and two key reservoir species, the American robin and the house sparrow. Thus, orchard habitats benefitted WNV vectors and reservoir hosts locally, creating focal points for the transmission of WNV at landscape scales in the presence of suitable climatic conditions. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 2 | 15% |
United States | 2 | 15% |
Netherlands | 2 | 15% |
Australia | 1 | 8% |
Argentina | 1 | 8% |
Spain | 1 | 8% |
Unknown | 4 | 31% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 9 | 69% |
Scientists | 2 | 15% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 8% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 8% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 3 | 2% |
Italy | 1 | <1% |
Germany | 1 | <1% |
Argentina | 1 | <1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 131 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 35 | 25% |
Researcher | 32 | 23% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 12 | 9% |
Student > Bachelor | 11 | 8% |
Student > Master | 9 | 7% |
Other | 20 | 14% |
Unknown | 19 | 14% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 59 | 43% |
Environmental Science | 14 | 10% |
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 11 | 8% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 7 | 5% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 2% |
Other | 17 | 12% |
Unknown | 27 | 20% |