Frequency-dependent transmission of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in eastern newts



Tompros, Adrianna, Dean, Andrew D ORCID: 0000-0001-9033-7560, Fenton, Andy ORCID: 0000-0002-7676-917X, Wilber, Mark Q, Carter, Edward Davis and Gray, Matthew J
(2022) Frequency-dependent transmission of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in eastern newts. TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES, 69 (2). pp. 731-741.

[img] Text
Tompros et al TBED 2021.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript

Download (12MB) | Preview

Abstract

Transmission is the fundamental process whereby pathogens infect their hosts and spread through populations, and can be characterized using mathematical functions. The functional form of transmission for emerging pathogens can determine pathogen impacts on host populations and can inform the efficacy of disease management strategies. By directly measuring transmission between infected and susceptible adult eastern newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) in aquatic mesocosms, we identified the most plausible transmission function for the emerging amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). Although we considered a range of possible transmission functions, we found that Bsal transmission was best explained by pure frequency dependence. We observed that >90% of susceptible newts became infected within 17 days post-exposure to an infected newt across a range of host densities and initial infection prevalence treatments. Under these conditions, we estimated R<sub>0</sub>  = 4.9 for Bsal in an eastern newt population. Our results suggest that Bsal has the capability of driving eastern newt populations to extinction and that managing host density may not be an effective management strategy. Intervention strategies that prevent Bsal introduction or increase host resistance or tolerance to infection may be more effective. Our results add to the growing empirical evidence that transmission of wildlife pathogens can saturate and be functionally frequency-dependent.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: amphibian, Batrachochytrium, density&#8208, dependent transmission, disease, fungus, model
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 08 Mar 2021 14:54
Last Modified: 20 Feb 2023 09:30
DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14043
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3116759