Sex-biased infections scale to population impacts for an emerging wildlife disease.

ABSTRACT: Demographic factors are fundamental in shaping infectious disease dynamics. Aspects of populations that create structure, like age and sex, can affect patterns of transmission, infection intensity and population outcomes. However, studies rarely link these processes from individual to population-scale effects. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying demographic differences in disease are frequently unclear. Here, we explore sex-biased infections for a multi-host fungal disease of bats, white-nose syndrome, and link disease-associated mortality between sexes, the distortion of sex ratios and the potential mechanisms underlying sex differences in infection. We collected data on host traits, infection intensity and survival of five bat species at 42 sites across seven years. We found females were

SUBMITTER: Kailing MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10031401 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature