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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
From flames to inflammation: how wildfires affect patterns of wildlife disease
Fire Ecology, Vol.17(1), pp.1-17
2021
Abstract
Fire strongly affects animals' behavior, population dynamics, and environmental surroundings, which in turn are likely to affect their immune systems and exposure to pathogens. However, little work has yet been conducted on the effects of wildfires on wildlife disease. This research gap is rapidly growing in importance because wildfires are becoming globally more common and more severe, with unknown impacts on wildlife disease and unclear implications for livestock and human health in the future. Results Here, we discussed how wildfires could influence susceptibility and exposure to infection in wild animals, and the potential consequences for ecology and public health. In our framework, we outlined how habitat loss and degradation caused by fire affect animals' immune defenses, and how behavioral and demographic responses to fire affect pathogen exposure, spread, and maintenance. We identified relative unknowns that might influence disease dynamics in unpredictable ways (e.g., through altered community composition and effects on free-living parasites). Finally, we discussed avenues for future investigations of fire-disease links. Conclusions We hope that this review will stimulate much-needed research on the role of wildfire in influencing wildlife disease, providing an important source of information on disease dynamics in the wake of future wildfires and other natural disasters, and encouraging further integration of the fields of fire and disease ecology.
Details
- Title
- From flames to inflammation: how wildfires affect patterns of wildlife disease
- Authors
- Gregory F Albery (Corresponding Author) - Georgetown UniversityIsabella Turilli (Author) - Georgetown UniversityMaxwell B Joseph (Author) - University of Colorado Colorado SpringsJanet Foley (Author) - University of California, DavisCeline H Frere (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringShweta Bansal (Author) - Georgetown University
- Publication details
- Fire Ecology, Vol.17(1), pp.1-17
- Audience
- Academic
- Publisher
- SpringerOpen
- Date published
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.1186/s42408-021-00113-4
- ISSN
- 1933-9747
- Copyright note
- The Author(s). 2021 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99575508602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Ecology
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