Nestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.

Determining the structure of ectoparasite-host networks will enable disease ecologists to better understand and predict the spread of vector-borne diseases. If these networks have consistent properties, then studying the structure of well-understood networks could lead to extrapolation of these prop...

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Autores principales: Sean P Graham, Hassan K Hassan, Nathan D Burkett-Cadena, Craig Guyer, Thomas R Unnasch
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Publicado: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2009
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/1eede81959a04aac8306d3b4837b7765
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:1eede81959a04aac8306d3b4837b77652021-11-25T06:28:01ZNestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0007873https://doaj.org/article/1eede81959a04aac8306d3b4837b77652009-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/19924299/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Determining the structure of ectoparasite-host networks will enable disease ecologists to better understand and predict the spread of vector-borne diseases. If these networks have consistent properties, then studying the structure of well-understood networks could lead to extrapolation of these properties to others, including those that support emerging pathogens. Borrowing a quantitative measure of network structure from studies of mutualistic relationships between plants and their pollinators, we analyzed 29 ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks--including three derived from molecular bloodmeal analysis of mosquito feeding patterns--using measures of nestedness to identify non-random interactions among species. We found significant nestedness in ectoparasite-vertebrate host lists for habitats ranging from tropical rainforests to polar environments. These networks showed non-random patterns of nesting, and did not differ significantly from published estimates of nestedness from mutualistic networks. Mutualistic and antagonistic networks appear to be organized similarly, with generalized ectoparasites interacting with hosts that attract many ectoparasites and more specialized ectoparasites usually interacting with these same "generalized" hosts. This finding has implications for understanding the network dynamics of vector-born pathogens. We suggest that nestedness (rather than random ectoparasite-host associations) can allow rapid transfer of pathogens throughout a network, and expand upon such concepts as the dilution effect, bridge vectors, and host switching in the context of nested ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.Sean P GrahamHassan K HassanNathan D Burkett-CadenaCraig GuyerThomas R UnnaschPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 4, Iss 11, p e7873 (2009)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Sean P Graham
Hassan K Hassan
Nathan D Burkett-Cadena
Craig Guyer
Thomas R Unnasch
Nestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.
description Determining the structure of ectoparasite-host networks will enable disease ecologists to better understand and predict the spread of vector-borne diseases. If these networks have consistent properties, then studying the structure of well-understood networks could lead to extrapolation of these properties to others, including those that support emerging pathogens. Borrowing a quantitative measure of network structure from studies of mutualistic relationships between plants and their pollinators, we analyzed 29 ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks--including three derived from molecular bloodmeal analysis of mosquito feeding patterns--using measures of nestedness to identify non-random interactions among species. We found significant nestedness in ectoparasite-vertebrate host lists for habitats ranging from tropical rainforests to polar environments. These networks showed non-random patterns of nesting, and did not differ significantly from published estimates of nestedness from mutualistic networks. Mutualistic and antagonistic networks appear to be organized similarly, with generalized ectoparasites interacting with hosts that attract many ectoparasites and more specialized ectoparasites usually interacting with these same "generalized" hosts. This finding has implications for understanding the network dynamics of vector-born pathogens. We suggest that nestedness (rather than random ectoparasite-host associations) can allow rapid transfer of pathogens throughout a network, and expand upon such concepts as the dilution effect, bridge vectors, and host switching in the context of nested ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.
format article
author Sean P Graham
Hassan K Hassan
Nathan D Burkett-Cadena
Craig Guyer
Thomas R Unnasch
author_facet Sean P Graham
Hassan K Hassan
Nathan D Burkett-Cadena
Craig Guyer
Thomas R Unnasch
author_sort Sean P Graham
title Nestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.
title_short Nestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.
title_full Nestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.
title_fullStr Nestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.
title_full_unstemmed Nestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.
title_sort nestedness of ectoparasite-vertebrate host networks.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate 2009
url https://doaj.org/article/1eede81959a04aac8306d3b4837b7765
work_keys_str_mv AT seanpgraham nestednessofectoparasitevertebratehostnetworks
AT hassankhassan nestednessofectoparasitevertebratehostnetworks
AT nathandburkettcadena nestednessofectoparasitevertebratehostnetworks
AT craigguyer nestednessofectoparasitevertebratehostnetworks
AT thomasrunnasch nestednessofectoparasitevertebratehostnetworks
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