Synergistic Effects of Grassland Fragmentation and Temperature on Bovine Rabies Emergence.

ABSTRACT: In 2007, common vampire bats were the source of the first outbreak of paralytic bovine rabies in Uruguay. The outbreak coincided in space and time with the fragmentation of native grasslands for monospecific forestry for wood and cellulose production. Using spatial analyses, we show that the increase in grassland fragmentation, together with the minimum temperature in the winter, accounts for the spatial pattern of outbreaks in the country. We propose that fragmentation may increase the connectivity of vampire bat colonies by promoting the sharing of feeding areas, while temperature modulates their home range plasticity. While a recent introduction of the virus from neighboring Brazil could have had an effect on outbreak occurrence, we show here that the distribution of rabies cases is unl

SUBMITTER: Botto Nunez G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7885335 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature