Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Exp Parasitol. 2022 Nov;242:108378. doi: 10.1016/j.exppara.2022.108378. Epub 2022 Sep 10.
Host and parasite traits that are sensitive to environmental perturbations merit special attention in the mitigation of diseases. While life table experiments allow a practical evaluation of variability of these traits with environmental change, they are cost and resource intensive. Here, we use a model snail host-trematode parasite system to test the efficacy of an expeditious alternative. Rapidly changing host traits (such as juvenile growth rate) can be used as effective predictors of parasite transmission potential across a range of environmental factors. This approach can be applied to anticipate epidemiological changes under diverse environmental scenarios.
宿主和寄生虫的特征对环境干扰很敏感,这在疾病缓解方面值得特别关注。虽然生命表实验可以实际评估这些特征随环境变化的可变性,但它们成本高且资源密集。在这里,我们使用一种模型蜗牛宿主-吸虫寄生虫系统来测试一种快捷替代方案的效果。快速变化的宿主特征(如幼体生长率)可用作在一系列环境因素下寄生虫传播潜力的有效预测因子。这种方法可用于预测不同环境情景下的流行病学变化。