Alien Pathogens on the Horizon: Opportunities for Predicting their Threat to Wildlife

Roy, Helen E.; Hesketh, Helen; Purse, Bethan V.; Eilenberg, Jørgen; Santini, Alberto; Scalerà, Riccardo; Stentiford, Grant D.; Adriaens, Tim; Bącela-Spychalska, Karolina; Bass, David; Beckmann, Katie M.; Bessell, Paul R.; Bojko, Jamie; Booy, Olaf; Cardoso, Ana Cristina; Essl, Franz; Groom, Quentin; Harrower, Colin; Kleespies, Regina; Martinou, Angeliki F.; Oers, Monique M. van; Peeler, E. J.; Pergl, Jan; Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Roques, Alain; Schaffner, Francis; Schindler, Stefan; Schmidt, Benedikt R.; Schönrogge, Karsten; Smith, J. Cole; Solarz, Wojciech; Stewart, Alan J. A.; Stroo, Arjan; Tricarico, Elena; Turvey, Katharine; Vannini, Andrea; Vilà, Montserrat; Woodward, Stephen; Wynns, Anja Amtoft; Dunn, Alison M.

doi:10.1111/conl.12297

Cited by 101 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Emerging infectious diseases are a significant threat to global biodiversity, and information on the introduction, spread, and effects of novel pathogens is essential for enacting appropriate responses to this threat (Roy et al., ). Anthropogenic forces have probably played an important role in the spread of hypervirulent lineages of Bd globally (Farrer et al., ), and the rapid growth of mid‐20th‐century southern California coinciding with increased Bd prevalence and the extirpation of a once‐common anuran is consistent with this hypothesis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid extirpation of a North American frog coincides with an increase in fungal pathogen prevalence: Historical analysis and implications for reintroduction

Adams

Pessier

Briggs

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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As extinctions continue across the globe, conservation biologists are turning to species reintroduction programs as one optimistic tool for addressing the biodiversity crisis. For repatriation to become a viable strategy, fundamental prerequisites include determining the causes of declines and assessing whether the causes persist in the environment. Invasive species—especially pathogens—are an increasingly significant factor contributing to biodiversity loss. We hypothesized that Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the causative agent of the deadly amphibian disease chytridiomycosis, was important in the rapid (<10 years) localized extirpation of a North American frog (Rana boylii) and that Bd remains widespread among extant amphibians in the region of extirpation. We used an interdisciplinary approach, combining interviews with herpetological experts, analysis of archived field notes and museum specimen collections, and field sampling of the extant amphibian assemblage to examine (1) historical relative abundance of R. boylii; (2) potential causes of R. boylii declines; and (3) historical and contemporary prevalence of Bd. We found that R. boylii were relatively abundant prior to their rapid extirpation, and an increase in Bd prevalence coincided with R. boylii declines during a time of rapid change in the region, wherein backcountry recreation, urban development, and the amphibian pet trade were all on the rise. In addition, extreme flooding during the winter of 1969 coincided with localized extirpations in R. boylii populations observed by interview respondents. We conclude that Bd likely played an important role in the rapid extirpation of R. boylii from southern California and that multiple natural and anthropogenic factors may have worked in concert to make this possible in a relatively short period of time. This study emphasizes the importance of recognizing historical ecological contexts in making future management and reintroduction decisions.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid extirpation of a North American frog coincides with an increase in fungal pathogen prevalence: Historical analysis and implications for reintroduction

Adams

Pessier

Briggs

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Most of these approaches have relied on information from the literature coupled with impact assessment frameworks (Parrott et al., ; Thomas, ) or modelling approaches (Gallardo & Aldridge, ). It has been noted that wildlife diseases are lacking within horizon scanning exercises and that there is a need to address this imbalance (Roy et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a list of invasive alien species likely to threaten biodiversity and ecosystems in the European Union

Roy

Bacher

Essl

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

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139

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The European Union (EU) has recently published its first list of invasive alien species (IAS) of EU concern to which current legislation must apply. The list comprises species known to pose great threats to biodiversity and needs to be maintained and updated. Horizon scanning is seen as critical to identify the most threatening potential IAS that do not yet occur in Europe to be subsequently risk assessed for future listing. Accordingly, we present a systematic consensus horizon scanning procedure to derive a ranked list of potential IAS likely to arrive, establish, spread and have an impact on biodiversity in the region over the next decade. The approach is unique in the continental scale examined, the breadth of taxonomic groups and environments considered, and the methods and data sources used. International experts were brought together to address five broad thematic groups of potential IAS. For each thematic group the experts first independently assembled lists of potential IAS not yet established in the EU but potentially threatening biodiversity if introduced. Experts were asked to score the species within their thematic group for their separate likelihoods of i) arrival, ii) establishment, iii) spread, and iv) magnitude of the potential negative impact on biodiversity within the EU. Experts then convened for a 2‐day workshop applying consensus methods to compile a ranked list of potential IAS. From an initial working list of 329 species, a list of 66 species not yet established in the EU that were considered to be very high (8 species), high (40 species) or medium (18 species) risk species was derived. Here, we present these species highlighting the potential negative impacts and the most likely biogeographic regions to be affected by these potential IAS.

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“…Often, the pathogens of invasive hosts are little known or cryptic, requiring dedicated screening efforts to elucidate underlying parasites and pathogens that may be vectored to new habitats by non-native species (NNS) [2, 3]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasites, pathogens and commensals in the “low-impact” non-native amphipod host Gammarus roeselii

et al. 2017

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BackgroundWhilst vastly understudied, pathogens of non-native species (NNS) are increasingly recognised as important threats to native wildlife. This study builds upon recent recommendations for improved screening for pathogens in NNS by focusing on populations of Gammarus roeselii in Chojna, north-western Poland. At this location, and in other parts of continental Europe, G. roeselii is considered a well-established and relatively ‘low-impact’ invader, with little understanding about its underlying pathogen profile and even less on potential spill-over of these pathogens to native species.ResultsUsing a combination of histological, ultrastructural and phylogenetic approaches, we define a pathogen profile for non-native populations of G. roeselii in Poland. This profile comprised acanthocephalans (Polymorphus minutus Goese, 1782 and Pomphorhynchus sp.), digenean trematodes, commensal rotifers, commensal and parasitic ciliated protists, gregarines, microsporidia, a putative rickettsia-like organism, filamentous bacteria and two viral pathogens, the majority of which are previously unknown to science. To demonstrate potential for such pathogenic risks to be characterised from a taxonomic perspective, one of the pathogens, a novel microsporidian, is described based upon its pathology, developmental cycle and SSU rRNA gene phylogeny. The novel microsporidian Cucumispora roeselii n. sp. displayed closest morphological and phylogenetic similarity to two previously described taxa, Cucumispora dikerogammari (Ovcharenko & Kurandina, 1987), and Cucumispora ornata Bojko, Dunn, Stebbing, Ross, Kerr & Stentiford, 2015.ConclusionsIn addition to our discovery extending the host range for the genus Cucumispora Ovcharenko, Bacela, Wilkinson, Ironside, Rigaud & Wattier, 2010 outside of the amphipod host genus Dikerogammarus Stebbing, we reveal significant potential for the co-transfer of (previously unknown) pathogens alongside this host when invading novel locations. This study highlights the importance of pre-invasion screening of low-impact NNS and, provides a means to document and potentially mitigate the additional risks posed by previously unknown pathogens.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2108-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Alien Pathogens on the Horizon: Opportunities for Predicting their Threat to Wildlife

Cited by 101 publications

References 33 publications

Rapid extirpation of a North American frog coincides with an increase in fungal pathogen prevalence: Historical analysis and implications for reintroduction

Rapid extirpation of a North American frog coincides with an increase in fungal pathogen prevalence: Historical analysis and implications for reintroduction

Developing a list of invasive alien species likely to threaten biodiversity and ecosystems in the European Union

Parasites, pathogens and commensals in the “low-impact” non-native amphipod host Gammarus roeselii

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