Anthropogenic landscape alteration promotes higher disease risk in wild New Zealand avian communities

• Published in: PloS one 2022-03, Vol.17 (3), p.e0265568-e0265568
• Main Authors: Filion, Antoine, Deschamps, Lucas, Niebuhr, Chris N, Poulin, Robert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal populations; Animals; Anthropogenic factors; Bayes Theorem; Bayesian analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Birds; Care and treatment; Climate change; Communicable diseases; Community; Community composition; Conservation; Diagnosis; Earth Sciences; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; Endangered & extinct species; Environmental protection; Extinction; Filters; Health risks; Human beings; Human influences; Indigenous species; Infections; Infectious diseases; Influence on nature; Islands; Landscape; Local extinction; Malaria; Malaria, Avian - epidemiology; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Mosquitoes; Multivariate statistical analysis; Native species; New Zealand - epidemiology; Pathogens; People and places; Plasmodium; Prevention; Risk factors; Songbirds; Species extinction; Vector-borne diseases; Vectors; Vectors (Biology); Vegetation index; Wildlife; Wildlife conservation; Zoology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265568

Anthropogenic changes can have dramatic effects on wild populations. Moreover, by promoting the emergence of vector-borne diseases in many ecosystems, those changes can lead to local extinction of native wildlife. One of those diseases, avian malaria, has been shown to be on the rise in New Zealand, threatening native bird species that are among the most extinction-prone in the world. It is thus of prime importance to better understand the potential cascading effects that anthropogenic modifications have on those fragile species. Here, we aim to test how long-lasting modification to regional environmental filters can subsequently alter local biotic filters, in turn promoting the emergence of avian malaria in New Zealand avian communities. To this end, we used Bayesian structural equation modelling to unravel the drivers of disease emergence within the complex interplay between landscape and local species pools. We show that altered landscape, quantified through a lower enhanced vegetation index, leads to more infections in Turdus spp. and modification in avian community composition, potentially raising the probability of infection for other species in the community. In addition, we show that climatic variables associated with the presence of vectors play a predominant role in shaping the regional pattern of avian malaria occurrence. Our results suggest long-lasting impacts of anthropogenic changes on regional environmental filters and demonstrate that conservation efforts should align toward restoring the landscape to prevent further emergence of infectious diseases in wild ecosystems.