Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 279, Issue 1733, Pages 1457-1465Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2276
Keywords
symbiosis; mutualism; wildlife disease; chytridiomycosis; Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis; conservation ecology
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Funding
- Australian-American Fulbright Commission
- Australian Research Council [DP0986537]
- Australian Research Council [DP0986537] Funding Source: Australian Research Council
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It is well known in ecology, evolution and medicine that both the nature (commensal, parasitic and mutualistic) and outcome (symbiont fitness, survival) of symbiotic interactions are often context-dependent. Less is known about the importance of context-dependence in symbioses involved in wildlife disease. We review variable symbioses, and use the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis to demonstrate how understanding context-dependence can improve the understanding and management of wildlife diseases. In chytridiomycosis, the host-pathogen interaction is context-dependent; it is strongly affected by environmental temperature. Skin bacteria can also modify the interaction; some bacteria reduce amphibians' susceptibility to chytridiomycosis. Augmentation of protective microbes is being considered as a possible management tool, but informed application of bioaugmentation requires understanding of how the interactions between host, beneficial bacteria and pathogen depend upon environmental context. The community-level response of the amphibian skin microbiota to environmental conditions may explain the relatively narrow range of environmental conditions in which past declines have occurred. Environmental context affects virulence and the protection provided by mutualists in other host-pathogen systems, including threatened bats and corals. Increased focus on context-dependence in interactions between wildlife and their symbionts is likely to be crucial to the future investigation and management of emerging diseases of wildlife.
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