Long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change
Abstract The influence of climate change on wildlife disease dynamics is a burgeoning conservation and human health issue, but few long‐term studies empirically link climate to pathogen prevalence. Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) are vulnerable to the negative impacts of sea ice loss as a result of...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15537 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.15537 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.15537 |
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crwiley:10.1111/gcb.15537 2024-06-23T07:50:15+00:00 Long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change Pilfold, Nicholas W. Richardson, Evan S. Ellis, John Jenkins, Emily Scandrett, W. Brad Hernández‐Ortiz, Adrián Buhler, Kayla McGeachy, David Al‐Adhami, Batol Konecsni, Kelly Lobanov, Vladislav A. Owen, Megan A. Rideout, Bruce Lunn, Nicholas J. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Parks Canada Churchill Northern Studies Centre Quark Expeditions World Wildlife Fund Canadian Wildlife Federation 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15537 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.15537 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.15537 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Global Change Biology volume 27, issue 19, page 4481-4497 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 journal-article 2021 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15537 2024-06-06T04:21:02Z Abstract The influence of climate change on wildlife disease dynamics is a burgeoning conservation and human health issue, but few long‐term studies empirically link climate to pathogen prevalence. Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) are vulnerable to the negative impacts of sea ice loss as a result of accelerated Arctic warming. While studies have associated changes in polar bear body condition, reproductive output, survival, and abundance to reductions in sea ice, no long‐term studies have documented the impact of climate change on pathogen exposure. We examined 425 serum samples from 381 adult polar bears, collected in western Hudson Bay (WH), Canada, for antibodies to selected pathogens across three time periods: 1986–1989 ( n = 157), 1995–1998 ( n = 159) and 2015–2017 ( n = 109). We ran serological assays for antibodies to seven pathogens: Toxoplasma gondii , Neospora caninum , Trichinella spp., Francisella tularensis , Bordetella bronchiseptica , canine morbillivirus (CDV) and canine parvovirus (CPV). Seroprevalence of zoonotic parasites ( T. gondii , Trichinella spp.) and bacterial pathogens ( F. tularensis , B. bronchiseptica ) increased significantly between 1986–1989 and 1995–1998, ranging from +6.2% to +20.8%, with T. gondii continuing to increase into 2015–2017 (+25.8% overall). Seroprevalence of viral pathogens (CDV, CPV) and N. caninum did not change with time. Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence was higher following wetter summers, while seroprevalences of Trichinella spp. and B. bronchiseptica were positively correlated with hotter summers. Seroprevalence of antibodies to F. tularensis increased following years polar bears spent more days on land, and polar bears previously captured in human settlements were more likely to be seropositive for Trichinella spp. As the Arctic has warmed due to climate change, zoonotic pathogen exposure in WH polar bears has increased, driven by numerous altered ecosystem pathways. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Hudson Bay Human health Sea ice Ursus maritimus Wiley Online Library Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay Global Change Biology |
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Wiley Online Library |
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Abstract The influence of climate change on wildlife disease dynamics is a burgeoning conservation and human health issue, but few long‐term studies empirically link climate to pathogen prevalence. Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) are vulnerable to the negative impacts of sea ice loss as a result of accelerated Arctic warming. While studies have associated changes in polar bear body condition, reproductive output, survival, and abundance to reductions in sea ice, no long‐term studies have documented the impact of climate change on pathogen exposure. We examined 425 serum samples from 381 adult polar bears, collected in western Hudson Bay (WH), Canada, for antibodies to selected pathogens across three time periods: 1986–1989 ( n = 157), 1995–1998 ( n = 159) and 2015–2017 ( n = 109). We ran serological assays for antibodies to seven pathogens: Toxoplasma gondii , Neospora caninum , Trichinella spp., Francisella tularensis , Bordetella bronchiseptica , canine morbillivirus (CDV) and canine parvovirus (CPV). Seroprevalence of zoonotic parasites ( T. gondii , Trichinella spp.) and bacterial pathogens ( F. tularensis , B. bronchiseptica ) increased significantly between 1986–1989 and 1995–1998, ranging from +6.2% to +20.8%, with T. gondii continuing to increase into 2015–2017 (+25.8% overall). Seroprevalence of viral pathogens (CDV, CPV) and N. caninum did not change with time. Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence was higher following wetter summers, while seroprevalences of Trichinella spp. and B. bronchiseptica were positively correlated with hotter summers. Seroprevalence of antibodies to F. tularensis increased following years polar bears spent more days on land, and polar bears previously captured in human settlements were more likely to be seropositive for Trichinella spp. As the Arctic has warmed due to climate change, zoonotic pathogen exposure in WH polar bears has increased, driven by numerous altered ecosystem pathways. |
author2 |
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Parks Canada Churchill Northern Studies Centre Quark Expeditions World Wildlife Fund Canadian Wildlife Federation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pilfold, Nicholas W. Richardson, Evan S. Ellis, John Jenkins, Emily Scandrett, W. Brad Hernández‐Ortiz, Adrián Buhler, Kayla McGeachy, David Al‐Adhami, Batol Konecsni, Kelly Lobanov, Vladislav A. Owen, Megan A. Rideout, Bruce Lunn, Nicholas J. |
spellingShingle |
Pilfold, Nicholas W. Richardson, Evan S. Ellis, John Jenkins, Emily Scandrett, W. Brad Hernández‐Ortiz, Adrián Buhler, Kayla McGeachy, David Al‐Adhami, Batol Konecsni, Kelly Lobanov, Vladislav A. Owen, Megan A. Rideout, Bruce Lunn, Nicholas J. Long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change |
author_facet |
Pilfold, Nicholas W. Richardson, Evan S. Ellis, John Jenkins, Emily Scandrett, W. Brad Hernández‐Ortiz, Adrián Buhler, Kayla McGeachy, David Al‐Adhami, Batol Konecsni, Kelly Lobanov, Vladislav A. Owen, Megan A. Rideout, Bruce Lunn, Nicholas J. |
author_sort |
Pilfold, Nicholas W. |
title |
Long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change |
title_short |
Long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change |
title_full |
Long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change |
title_fullStr |
Long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change |
title_full_unstemmed |
Long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change |
title_sort |
long‐term increases in pathogen seroprevalence in polar bears ( ursus maritimus) influenced by climate change |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15537 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.15537 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.15537 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Hudson Hudson Bay |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Hudson Bay Human health Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Hudson Bay Human health Sea ice Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Global Change Biology volume 27, issue 19, page 4481-4497 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15537 |
container_title |
Global Change Biology |
_version_ |
1802641128420278272 |