Endemic infection can shape exposure to novel pathogens: Pathogen co‐occurrence networks in the Serengeti lions

Pathogens are embedded in a complex network of microparasites that can collectively or individually alter disease dynamics and outcomes. Endemic pathogens that infect an individual in the first years of life, for example, can either facilitate or compete with subsequent pathogens thereby exacerbatin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2019-06, Vol.22 (6), p.904-913
Main Authors: Fountain‐Jones, Nicholas M., Packer, Craig, Jacquot, Maude, Blanchet, F. Guillaume, Terio, Karen, Craft, Meggan E., Ezenwa, Vanessa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Babesia
calicivirus
canine distemper virus
community assembly
community ecology
coronavirus
co‐infection
Demographics
Ecological monitoring
Epidemics
Felidae
feline immunodeficiency virus
Infections
Letter
Letters
Life Sciences
Lions - microbiology
Lions - parasitology
Morbidity
mortality
parvovirus
Pathogens
Social Behavior
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Summary:Pathogens are embedded in a complex network of microparasites that can collectively or individually alter disease dynamics and outcomes. Endemic pathogens that infect an individual in the first years of life, for example, can either facilitate or compete with subsequent pathogens thereby exacerbating or ameliorating morbidity and mortality. Pathogen associations are ubiquitous but poorly understood, particularly in wild populations. We report here on 10 years of serological and molecular data in African lions, leveraging comprehensive demographic and behavioural data to test if endemic pathogens shape subsequent infection by epidemic pathogens. We combine network and community ecology approaches to assess broad network structure and characterise associations between pathogens across spatial and temporal scales. We found significant non‐random structure in the lion‐pathogen co‐occurrence network and identified both positive and negative associations between endemic and epidemic pathogens. Our results provide novel insights on the complex associations underlying pathogen co‐occurrence networks.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/ele.13250