Association between anthropization and rodent reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens in Northwestern Mexico
Por:
Mendoza H., López-Pérez A.M., Rubio A.V., Barrón-Rodríguez J.J., Mazari-Hiriart M., Pontifes P.A., Dirzo R., Suzán G.
Publicada:
1 ene 2024
Categoría:
Multidisciplinary
Resumen:
The world is facing a major pulse of ecological and social changes that may favor the risk of zoonotic outbreaks. Such risk facilitation may occur through the modification of the host’s community diversity and structure, leading to an increase in pathogen reservoirs and the contact rate between these reservoirs and humans. Here, we examined whether anthropization alters the relative abundance and richness of zoonotic reservoir and non-reservoir rodents in three Socio-Ecological Systems. We hypothesized that anthropization increases the relative abundance and richness of rodent reservoirs while decreasing non-reservoir species. We first developed an Anthropization index based on 15 quantitative socio-ecological variables classified into five groups: 1) Vegetation type, 2) Urbanization degree, 3) Water quality, 4) Potential contaminant sources, and 5) Others. We then monitored rodent communities in three regions of Northwestern Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, and Sonora). A total of 683 rodents of 14 genera and 27 species were captured, nine of which have been identified as reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens (359 individuals, 53%). In all regions, we found that as anthropization increased, the relative abundance of reservoir rodents increased; in contrast, the relative abundance of non-reservoir rodents decreased. In Sonora, reservoir richness increased with increasing anthropization, while in Baja California and Chihuahua non-reservoir richness decreased as anthropization increased. We also found a significant positive relationship between the anthropization degree and the abundance of house mice (Mus musculus) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), the most abundant reservoir species in the study. These findings support the hypothesis that reservoir species of zoonotic pathogens increase their abundance in disturbed environments, which may increase the risk of pathogen exposure to humans, while anthropization creates an environmental filtering that promotes the local extinction of non-reservoir species. © 2024 Public Library of Science. All rights reserved.
Filiaciones:
Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades y Una Salud, Departamento de Etología, Fauna Silvestre y Animales de Laboratorio, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Mexico
Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Animales, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
MIVEGEC Unit, IRD, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
Departments of Biology and Earth Systems Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
gold, All Open Access; Gold Open Access
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