Invasive honeysuckle eradication reduces tick-borne disease risk by altering host dynamics

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2010-10, Vol.107 (43), p.18523-18527
• Main Authors: Allan, Brian F., Dutra, Humberto P., Goessling, Lisa S., Barnett, Kirk, Chase, Jonathan M., Marquis, Robert J., Pang, Genevieve, Storch, Gregory A., Thach, Robert E., Orrock, John L., Berenbaum, May R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amblyomma americanum; Animals; Biological Sciences; Blood meals; Deer; Deer - microbiology; Deer - parasitology; Disease Reservoirs - microbiology; Disease risk; Ecological invasion; Ecosystem; Ehrlichiosis; Ehrlichiosis - prevention & control; Ehrlichiosis - transmission; fauna; flora; Flowers & plants; Habitat preferences; Habitats; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Human exposure; Humans; Infectious diseases; Invasions; Invasive species; Ixodidae; Ixodidae - microbiology; Ixodidae - pathogenicity; Lonicera; Lonicera maackii; Missouri; Nymphs; Odocoileus virginianus; Parasitic diseases; Pathogens; Reservoirs; Shrubs; Tick borne diseases; Tick-Borne Diseases - prevention & control; Tick-Borne Diseases - transmission; Ticks; Vector-borne diseases; Vegetation
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1008362107

Despite the ubiquity of invasive organisms and their often deleterious effects on native flora and fauna, the consequences of biological invasions for human health and the ecological mechanisms through which they occur are rarely considered. Here we demonstrate that a widespread invasive shrub in North America, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), increases human risk of exposure to ehrlichiosis, an emerging infectious disease caused by bacterial pathogens transmitted by the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Using large-scale observational surveys in natural areas across the St. Louis, Missouri region, we found that white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), a preeminent tick host and pathogen reservoir, more frequently used areas invaded by honeysuckle. This habitat preference translated into considerably greater numbers of ticks infected with pathogens in honeysuckle-invaded areas relative to adjacent honeysuckle-uninvaded areas. We confirmed this biotic mechanism using an experimental removal of honeysuckle, which caused a decrease in deer activity and infected tick numbers, as well as a proportional shift in the blood meals of ticks away from deer. We conclude that disease risk is likely to be reduced when honeysuckle is eradicated, and suggest that management of biological invasions may help ameliorate the burden of vector-borne diseases on human health.