Urban landscapes increase dispersal, gene flow, and pathogen transmission potential in banded mongoose (<i>Mungos mungo</i>) in northern Botswana

Verble, Kelton M.; Hallerman, Eric M.; Alexander, Kathleen A.

doi:10.1002/ece3.7487

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 71 publications

(100 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, urban landscapes may alter host-pathogen dynamics directly by changing the way pathogens move through a system, or indirectly through changes to host immunocompetence or behavior (Brearley et al, 2013;Brunton et al, 2020). Urbanization has been shown to increase individual dispersal between troops in the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), which may heighten the transmission risk of pathogens that spread through close contact (Verble et al, 2021). Evidence of increased stress (typically measured by fecal cortisol) and immunosuppression in urbanassociated wildlife, however, is mixed.…”

Section: Life Traits and Species Interactions With Conspecifics And S...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Campylobacter in aquatic and terrestrial mammals is driven by life traits: A systematic review and meta-analysis

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionCampylobacter spp. infections are responsible for significant diarrheal disease burden across the globe, with prevalence thought to be increasing. Although wild avian species have been studied as reservoirs of Campylobacter spp., our understanding of the role of wild mammalian species in disease transmission and persistence is limited. Host factors influencing infection dynamics in wild mammals have been neglected, particularly life traits, and the role of these factors in zoonotic spillover risk is largely unknown.MethodsHere, we conducted a systematic literature review, identifying mammalian species that had been tested for Campylobacter spp. infections (molecular and culture based). We used logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between the detection of Campylobacter spp. in feces and host life traits (urban association, trophic level, and sociality).ResultsOur analysis suggest that C. jejuni transmission is associated with urban living and trophic level. The probability of carriage was highest in urban-associated species (p = 0.02793) and the most informative model included trophic level. In contrast, C. coli carriage appears to be strongly influenced by sociality (p = 0.0113) with trophic level still being important. Detection of Campylobacter organisms at the genus level, however, was only associated with trophic level (p = 0.0156), highlighting the importance of this trait in exposure dynamics across host and Campylobacter pathogen systems.DiscussionWhile many challenges remain in the detection and characterization of Camploybacter spp., these results suggest that host life traits may have important influence on pathogen exposure and transmission dynamics, providing a useful starting point for more directed surveillance approaches.

show abstract

Section: Life Traits and Species Interactions With Conspecifics And S...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Campylobacter in aquatic and terrestrial mammals is driven by life traits: A systematic review and meta-analysis

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…African golden cats Profelis aurata , Bahaa‐el‐din et al 2016; jungle cats, Katna et al 2022; water mongooses Atilax paludinosus , Streicher et al 2021), and may facilitate dispersal (e.g. banded mongooses Mungos mungo ; Verble et al 2021). Moreover, anthropogenically provided food supports many species, which may relax intra‐ and interspecific competition for generalists (Newsome et al 2013, Lancaster et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle‐out ecology: small carnivores as sentinels of global change

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Species that respond to ecosystem change in a timely, measurable, and interpretable way can be used as sentinels of global change. Contrary to a pervasive view, we suggest that, among Carnivora, small carnivores are more appropriate sentinels than large carnivores. This reasoning is built around six key points: that, compared to large carnivores, small carnivores 1) are more species-rich and diverse, providing more potential sentinels in many systems; 2) occupy a wider range of ecological niches, exhibiting a greater variety of sensitivities to change; 3) hold an intermediate trophic position that is more directly affected by changes at the producer, primary consumer, and tertiary consumer levels; 4) have shorter life spans and higher reproductive rates, exhibiting more rapid responses to change; 5) have smaller home ranges and are more abundant, making it easier to investigate fine-scale management interventions; 6) are easier to monitor, manage, and manipulate. Therefore, we advocate for incorporating

show abstract

“…In northern Botswana the banded mongoose Mungos mungo , a small carnivorous species of the Herpestidae family is effected by the novel tuberculosis pathogen Mycobacterium mungi (Alexander et al, 2010, 2016; Verble et al, 2021). Mycobacterium mungi causes significant mortality in this species and can presents a threat to the persistence of smaller troops (Alexander et al, 2010, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying social behaviours related to disease transmission in banded mongoose from accelerometer data

Vuurst

Alexander

2023

Ecol Sol and Evidence

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current methods for identifying and predicting infectious disease dynamics in wildlife populations are limited. Pathogen transmission dynamics can be complex, influenced by behavioural interactions between and among hosts, pathogens and their environments. These behaviours may also be influenced directly by observers, with observational research methods being limited to habituated species. Banded mongoose Mungos mungo are social, medium size carnivores infected with the novel tuberculosis pathogen Mycobacterium mungi. This pathogen is principally transmitted during normal olfactory communication behaviours. Banded mongoose behavioural responses to humans change over the landscape, limiting the use of direct observational approaches in areas where mongoose are threatened and flee. The accelerometers in bio‐logging devices have been used previously to identify distinct behaviours in wildlife species, providing a tool to quantifying specific behaviours in ecological studies. We deployed Axy‐5X model accelerometers (TechnoSmArt) on captive mongoose to determine whether accelerometers could be used to identify key mongoose behavioural activities previously associated with M. mungi transmission. After two collaring periods, we determined that three distinct behavioural activities could be identified in the accelerometer data: bipedal vertical vigilance, running and scent marking activity; behaviours that have been shown to vary across land type in the banded mongoose. Results from this work advance current data analytics and provide modifications to data analysis works flows, updating and expanding upon current methodologies. We also provide preliminary evidence of successful mathematical classification of the target behaviours, supporting the future use of these devices. Methods applied here may allow model estimates of M. mungi transmission in free‐ranging mongoose to be refined with possible application to other systems where direct observation approaches have limited application.

show abstract

Urban landscapes increase dispersal, gene flow, and pathogen transmission potential in banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) in northern Botswana

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 4 publications

References 71 publications

Campylobacter in aquatic and terrestrial mammals is driven by life traits: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Campylobacter in aquatic and terrestrial mammals is driven by life traits: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Middle‐out ecology: small carnivores as sentinels of global change

Identifying social behaviours related to disease transmission in banded mongoose from accelerometer data

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About