Altizer Sonia, Dobson Andrew, Hosseini Parviez, Hudson Peter, Pascual Mercedes, Rohani Pejman
Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Ecol Lett. 2006 Apr;9(4):467-84. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00879.x.
Seasonal variations in temperature, rainfall and resource availability are ubiquitous and can exert strong pressures on population dynamics. Infectious diseases provide some of the best-studied examples of the role of seasonality in shaping population fluctuations. In this paper, we review examples from human and wildlife disease systems to illustrate the challenges inherent in understanding the mechanisms and impacts of seasonal environmental drivers. Empirical evidence points to several biologically distinct mechanisms by which seasonality can impact host-pathogen interactions, including seasonal changes in host social behaviour and contact rates, variation in encounters with infective stages in the environment, annual pulses of host births and deaths and changes in host immune defences. Mathematical models and field observations show that the strength and mechanisms of seasonality can alter the spread and persistence of infectious diseases, and that population-level responses can range from simple annual cycles to more complex multiyear fluctuations. From an applied perspective, understanding the timing and causes of seasonality offers important insights into how parasite-host systems operate, how and when parasite control measures should be applied, and how disease risks will respond to anthropogenic climate change and altered patterns of seasonality. Finally, by focusing on well-studied examples of infectious diseases, we hope to highlight general insights that are relevant to other ecological interactions.
温度、降雨量和资源可利用性的季节性变化普遍存在，并且会对种群动态施加强大压力。传染病是季节性在塑造种群波动方面所起作用的一些研究最为充分的例子。在本文中，我们回顾了人类和野生动物疾病系统中的例子，以说明在理解季节性环境驱动因素的机制和影响方面存在的固有挑战。实证证据指向季节性影响宿主-病原体相互作用的几种生物学上不同的机制，包括宿主社会行为和接触率的季节性变化、在环境中与感染阶段接触的变化、宿主出生和死亡的年度脉冲以及宿主免疫防御的变化。数学模型和实地观察表明，季节性的强度和机制可以改变传染病的传播和持续存在，并且种群水平的反应范围可以从简单的年度周期到更复杂的多年波动。从应用的角度来看，了解季节性的时间和原因对于寄生虫-宿主系统如何运作、应如何以及何时应用寄生虫控制措施以及疾病风险将如何应对人为气候变化和季节性模式改变提供了重要见解。最后，通过关注经过充分研究的传染病例子，我们希望突出与其他生态相互作用相关的一般见解。
