A5000779425- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Plant and animal studies
- Zoonotic diseases and public health
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Microbial infections and disease research
- Bird parasitology and diseases
- COVID-19 epidemiological studies
- Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Virology and Viral Diseases
- Bat Biology and Ecology Studies
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Data-Driven Disease Surveillance
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Forest Management and Policy
- Rabbits: Nutrition, Reproduction, Health
Swansea University
2018-2025
Griffith University
2015-2019
The University of Adelaide
2014-2019
Universität Ulm
2005-2014
Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre
2011-2014
Senckenberg Society for Nature Research
2014
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
2004-2014
Sabah Parks
2009-2011
Australian National University
2009
Cambridge University Press
2009
ABSTRACT In soil, Acidobacteria constitute on average 20% of all bacteria, are highly diverse, and physiologically active in situ . However, their individual functions interactions with higher taxa soil still unknown. Here, potential effects land use, properties, plant diversity, nanofauna acidobacterial community composition were studied by cultivation-independent methods grassland forest soils from three different regions Germany. The analysis 16S rRNA gene clone libraries representing...
Vulnerability to habitat fragmentation Habitat caused by human activities has consequences for the distribution and movement of organisms. Betts et al. present a global analysis how exposure affects composition ecological communities (see Perspective Hargreaves). In dataset consisting 4489 animal species, regions that historically experienced little disturbance tended harbor higher proportion species vulnerable fragmentation. Species in more frequently disturbed were resilient. High-latitude...
Abstract Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. However, understanding how different components land use drive loss requires the investigation multiple trophic levels across spatial scales. Using data from 150 agricultural grasslands in central Europe, we assess influence local- and landscape-level on more than 4,000 above- belowground taxa, spanning 20 groups. Plot-level land-use intensity strongly negatively associated with aboveground groups, but positively or...
Abstract Aim Small mammals were live‐trapped in a primary rain forest to evaluate the relative distribution of species each other and microhabitat properties on ground canopy. Location Kinabalu National Park Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia. Methods Seven trapping sessions conducted along two grids with 31 trap points at distances 20 m lower canopy an average height 13.5 m. Results Species diversity abundance small proved be high: families Muridae, Sciuridae, Tupaiidae, Hystricidae, Viverridae...
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is an ancient and ubiquitous human pathogen recovered previously only from primates. The sole species of the genus Hepatovirus, existing in both enveloped nonenveloped forms, with a capsid structure intermediate between that insect viruses mammalian picornaviruses, HAV enigmatic its origins. We conducted targeted search for hepatoviruses 15,987 specimens collected 209 small mammal globally discovered highly diversified bats, rodents, hedgehogs, shrews, which by...
Land‐use intensification is a key driver of biodiversity change. However, little known about how it alters relationships between the diversities different taxonomic groups, which are often correlated due to shared environmental drivers and trophic interactions. Using data from 150 grassland sites, we examined land‐use (increased fertilization, higher livestock densities, increased mowing frequency) altered correlations species richness 15 plant, invertebrate, vertebrate taxa. We found that...
Spillover of parasites at the domestic animal - wildlife interface is a pervasive threat to health. Cat and dog fleas (Ctenocephalides felis C. canis) are among world's most invasive economically important ectoparasites. Although both species presumed infest diversity host across globe, knowledge on their distributions in poor. We built global dataset wild mammal associations for cat fleas, used Bayesian hierarchical models identify traits that predict infestation probability. complemented...
Abstract Aim Macroecological analyses provide valuable insights into factors that influence how parasites are distributed across space and among hosts. Amid large uncertainties arise when generalizing from local regional findings, hierarchical approaches applied to global datasets required determine whether drivers of parasite infection patterns vary scales. We assessed haemosporidian infections a broad diversity avian host clades zoogeographical realms depict hotspots prevalence identify...
The intensive foraging of insectivorous birds and bats is well known to reduce the density arboreal herbivorous arthropods but quantification collateral leaf damage remains limited for temperate forest canopies. We conducted exclusion experiments with nets in crowns young mature oaks, Quercus robur, south central Germany investigate extent which aerial vertebrates herbivory through predation. repeatedly estimated throughout vegetation period. Exclusion led a distinct increase arthropod...
Experimental work increasingly suggests that non-random pathogen associations can affect the spread or severity of disease. Yet due to difficulties distinguishing and interpreting co-infections, evidence for presence directionality co-occurrences in wildlife is rudimentary. We provide empirical by analysing infection matrices avian malaria (Haemoproteus Plasmodium spp.) parasitic filarial nematodes (microfilariae) wild birds (New Caledonian Zosterops spp.). Using visual genus-specific...
Abstract Aim Identifying barriers that govern parasite community assembly and invasion risk is critical to understand how shifting host ranges impact disease emergence. We studied regional variation in the phylogenetic compositions of bird species their blood parasites ( Plasmodium Haemoproteus spp.) identify shape assembly. Location Australasia Oceania. Methods used a data set infections from >10,000 individuals sampled across 29 bioregions. Hierarchical models matrix regressions were...
Abstract Stochastic simulation models requiring many input parameters are widely used to inform the management of ecological systems. The interpretation complex is aided by global sensitivity analysis, using simulations for distinct parameter sets sampled from multidimensional space. Ecologists typically analyze such output an “emulator”; that is, a statistical model approximate relationship between inputs and outputs derive measures. However, it typical ad hoc decisions be made regarding:...
Within host-parasite communities, viral co-circulation and co-infections of hosts are the norm, yet studies significant emerging zoonoses tend to focus on a single parasite species within host. Using multiplexed paramyxovirus bead-based PCR urine samples from Australian flying foxes, we show that multi-viral shedding fox populations is common. We detected up nine bat paramyxoviruses shed synchronously. Multi-viral infrequently coalesced into an extreme, brief spatially restricted pulse,...
Abstract Changes in species distributions open novel parasite transmission routes at the human–wildlife interface, yet strength of biotic and biogeographical factors that prevent or facilitate host shifting are not well understood. We investigated global patterns helminth (Nematoda, Cestoda, Trematoda) sharing between mammalian wildlife domestic mammal hosts (including humans) using >24,000 unique country‐level records host–parasite associations. used hierarchical modelling trait data to...
Abstract Inferring interactions between co‐occurring species is key to identify processes governing community assembly. Incorporating interspecific in predictive models common ecology, yet most methods do not adequately account for indirect (where an interaction two masked by their shared with a third) and assume vary along environmental gradients. Markov random fields (MRF) overcome these limitations estimating interactions, while controlling from multispecies occurrence data. We illustrate...
Emerging infectious diseases arising from pathogen spillover mammals to humans constitute a substantial health threat. Tracing virus origin and predicting the most likely host species for future events are major objectives in One Health disciplines.We assessed patterns of sharing among large diversity mammals, including domestic species.Global.Current.Mammals associated viruses.We used network centrality analysis trait-based Bayesian hierarchical models explore mammals. We analysed global...
Abstract Background The geographic distribution and host-parasite interaction networks of Sarcocystis spp. in small mammals eastern Asia remain incompletely known. Methods Experimental infections, morphological molecular characterizations were used for discrimination a new species isolated from colubrid snakes collected Thailand, Borneo China. Results We identified species, muricoelognathis sp. nov., that features relatively wide infects both commensal forest-inhabiting intermediate hosts....