Relationships Pathogens have with Ecological Diversity
The effect that pathogens have on the environment due to ecological diversity is great and complicated. The systems of between disease and species can change an ecosystem drastically and shake up the biosphere entirely. In this essay I will discuss how pathogen like those found in Plague inc. can impact biodiversity in our world today, and vice versa.
One obvious consequence of deforestation is the loss of habitat for animals. But one unforeseen consequence arises when dealing with infectious diseases: the prevalence of deadly pathogens increase. For example, studies have shown that mosquitos that adapt to the loss of habitat almost always are better vectors for diseases like malaria than other mosquitoes that did not adapt. In some cases, the highly effective mosquitos replaced up to 20 other species of less infective mosquitos, reducing diversity and increasing the prevalence of highly transmissible malaria. Similar Phenomena happens with certain species of snails, showing that homogeneous populations spread and evolve to be vectors of infectious disease. 1
Some similar effects of deforestation happen through what is known as disease reservoirs. Animals that are pushed out …show more content…
This theory states that with greater diversity comes more diluted disease hosts and vectors. As I stated earlier more species acts as kind of a biological disease buffer to other organisms. This theory focuses on host of diseases, often the prey of vectors; when a vector has more prey they are less likely to pass on a disease. Lyme disease in the United States is a paramount example of this Studies show people in degraded or sub-par habitats are more likely to contract lyme disease than people in intact, and thriving forests. These indications show that biodiversity is detrimental to the success of
The effect that pathogens have on the environment due to ecological diversity is great and complicated. The systems of between disease and species can change an ecosystem drastically and shake up the biosphere entirely. In this essay I will discuss how pathogen like those found in Plague inc. can impact biodiversity in our world today, and vice versa.
One obvious consequence of deforestation is the loss of habitat for animals. But one unforeseen consequence arises when dealing with infectious diseases: the prevalence of deadly pathogens increase. For example, studies have shown that mosquitos that adapt to the loss of habitat almost always are better vectors for diseases like malaria than other mosquitoes that did not adapt. In some cases, the highly effective mosquitos replaced up to 20 other species of less infective mosquitos, reducing diversity and increasing the prevalence of highly transmissible malaria. Similar Phenomena happens with certain species of snails, showing that homogeneous populations spread and evolve to be vectors of infectious disease. 1
Some similar effects of deforestation happen through what is known as disease reservoirs. Animals that are pushed out …show more content…
This theory states that with greater diversity comes more diluted disease hosts and vectors. As I stated earlier more species acts as kind of a biological disease buffer to other organisms. This theory focuses on host of diseases, often the prey of vectors; when a vector has more prey they are less likely to pass on a disease. Lyme disease in the United States is a paramount example of this Studies show people in degraded or sub-par habitats are more likely to contract lyme disease than people in intact, and thriving forests. These indications show that biodiversity is detrimental to the success of