Landscape Ecology Lab, Department of Biology, Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 13;17(6):e0269768. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269768. eCollection 2022.
Habitat fragmentation and heterogeneity transform otherwise contiguous tracks of forest into smaller patches in the northeastern U.S. and likely impact abundances, movement patterns, and disease transmission pathways for small-mammal communities at multiple scales. We sought to determine the structure of a small-mammal community in terms of mammal abundance and infection prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti within a fragmented landscape in Essex County, Massachusetts, USA. We studied communities at multiple spatial scales, including vegetation, edge type, and landscape (including 200-m, 500-m, and 1000-m radii) scales. A total of 16 study sites were chosen to represent four edge types: interior forest, pasture edge, natural edge, and residential edge. At each site, we trapped small mammals and conducted vegetation surveys and GIS analysis. Upon capture, a tissue sample was collected to analyze for presence of pathogens. Northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) abundance did not differ based on edge type, whereas abundance of the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) was greatest at pasture edges, although the relationship was relatively weak. White-footed mouse abundance was negatively associated with amount of forested area within a 500-m radius, whereas northern short-tailed shrew abundance demonstrated a positive relationship with fragmentation indices at the 200-m radius. White-footed mice captured at interior-forest habitat were more likely be infected with B. burgdorferi (s.s.) than individuals from edge habitat. Greater prevalence of B. burgdorferi infection of white-footed mice in forest interiors compared to edge habitats counters previous studies. Reasons for this and implications are discussed.
生境破碎化和异质性将美国东北部原本连续的森林带分割成较小的斑块，这可能会影响小哺乳动物群落在多个尺度上的数量、移动模式和疾病传播途径。我们试图确定马萨诸塞州埃塞克斯县破碎景观中小哺乳动物群落的结构，包括哺乳动物数量和伯氏疏螺旋体（s.s.）、嗜吞噬细胞无形体和微小巴贝斯虫的感染流行率。我们研究了多个空间尺度的群落，包括植被、边缘类型和景观（包括 200m、500m 和 1000m 半径）尺度。选择了 16 个研究点来代表 4 种边缘类型：内部森林、牧场边缘、自然边缘和住宅边缘。在每个地点，我们都用陷阱捕获小哺乳动物，并进行植被调查和 GIS 分析。捕获后，采集组织样本进行病原体分析。北方短尾鼩鼱（Blarina brevicauda）的数量与边缘类型无关，而白足鼠（Peromyscus leucopus）的数量在牧场边缘最多，尽管这种关系相对较弱。白足鼠的数量与 500m 半径内的森林面积呈负相关，而北方短尾鼩鼱的数量与 200m 半径的破碎化指数呈正相关。在内部森林栖息地捕获的白足鼠更有可能感染伯氏疏螺旋体（s.s.），而不是来自边缘栖息地的个体。与先前的研究相比，森林内部白足鼠感染伯氏疏螺旋体的流行率更高。讨论了出现这种情况的原因及其影响。
