Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, University of Maryland, Annapolis, MD, USA.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2020 Aug;35(8):731-743. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.04.003. Epub 2020 Jun 15.
Despite the ubiquity of pathogens in ecological systems, their roles in influencing ecosystem services are often overlooked. Pathogens that infect primary producers (i.e., plants, algae, cyanobacteria) can have particularly strong effects because autotrophs are responsible for a wide range of provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. We review the roles of pathogens in mediating ecosystem services provided by autotrophs and outline scenarios in which infection may lead to unexpected outcomes in response to global change. Our synthesis highlights a deficit of information on this topic, and we outline a vision for future research that includes integrative theory and cross-system empirical studies. Ultimately, knowledge about the mediating roles of pathogens on ecosystem services should inform environmental policy and practice.
尽管病原体在生态系统中无处不在，但它们在影响生态系统服务方面的作用往往被忽视。感染初级生产者（即植物、藻类、蓝细菌）的病原体可能会产生特别强烈的影响，因为自养生物负责广泛的供应、调节和文化服务。我们回顾了病原体在调节自养生物提供的生态系统服务方面的作用，并概述了在这些服务中，感染可能会导致对全球变化产生意想不到的结果的情况。我们的综合分析强调了在这个主题上信息的缺乏，我们概述了未来研究的愿景，包括综合理论和跨系统的实证研究。最终，关于病原体对生态系统服务的中介作用的知识应该为环境政策和实践提供信息。
