Global warming is changing the dynamics of Arctic host-parasite systems

Proc Biol Sci. 2005 Dec 22;272(1581):2571-6. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3285.

Abstract

Global climate change is altering the ecology of infectious agents and driving the emergence of disease in people, domestic animals, and wildlife. We present a novel, empirically based, predictive model for the impact of climate warming on development rates and availability of an important parasitic nematode of muskoxen in the Canadian Arctic, a region that is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Using this model, we show that warming in the Arctic may have already radically altered the transmission dynamics of this parasite, escalating infection pressure for muskoxen, and that this trend is expected to continue. This work establishes a foundation for understanding responses to climate change of other host-parasite systems, in the Arctic and globally.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arctic Regions
  • Canada
  • Ecosystem
  • Global Warming*
  • Host-Parasite Interactions / physiology*
  • Ruminants / parasitology
  • Seasons
  • Strongylida / growth & development
  • Strongylida / pathogenicity
  • Strongylida Infections / parasitology
  • Strongylida Infections / transmission
  • Strongylida Infections / veterinary