Range area and the fast-slow continuum of life history traits predict pathogen richness in wild mammals.

ABSTRACT: Surveillance of pathogen richness in wildlife is needed to identify host species with a high risk of zoonotic disease spillover. While several predictors of pathogen richness in wildlife hosts have been proposed, their relative importance has not been formally examined. This hampers our ability to identify potential disease reservoirs, particularly in remote areas with limited surveillance efforts. Here we analyzed 14 proposed predictors of pathogen richness using ensemble modeling and a dataset of 1040 host species to identify the most important predictors of pathogen richness in wild mammal species. After controlling for research effort, larger species geographic range area was identified to be associated with higher pathogen richness. We found evidence of duality in the relationship bet

SUBMITTER: Choo J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10657380 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature