Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations
Scavenging is a common phenomenon, particularly amongst carnivorous vertebrates. By consuming carrion, vertebrate scavengers reduce resource availability for both pathogenic bacteria and their insect vectors. We investigated the ability of wild vertebrate scavengers to control agents of human diarrh...
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ftninstesingap:oai:repository.nie.edu.sg:10497/22582 2023-05-15T15:50:45+02:00 Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations Lim, Norman (Norman T-Lon) Kelt, Douglas A. Lim, Kelvin K. P. Bernard, Henry 2020 http://hdl.handle.net/10497/22582 https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2020.59-63 en eng https://doi.org/10.25340/R4/S2QLJE Lim, N. T-L., Kelt, D. A., Lim, K. K. P., & Bernard, H. (2020). Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations. Zoological Studies, 59, Article 63. https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2020.59-63 1810-522X http://hdl.handle.net/10497/22582 doi:10.6620/ZS.2020.59-63 Open Carcass removal Filth flies Salmonella Shiga toxin-producing E. coli Spillover effect Article 2020 ftninstesingap https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2020.59-63 https://doi.org/10.25340/R4/S2QLJE 2022-11-01T18:35:21Z Scavenging is a common phenomenon, particularly amongst carnivorous vertebrates. By consuming carrion, vertebrate scavengers reduce resource availability for both pathogenic bacteria and their insect vectors. We investigated the ability of wild vertebrate scavengers to control agents of human diarrheal diseases (specifically Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin- producing Escherichia coli [STEC]) in oil palm plantations in Sabah (East Malaysia), and the existence of spillover effect whereby additional vertebrate scavengers from adjacent forest patches result in greater disease control in plantation sections near these forest edges. Experimental carcasses were removed by common scavengers (Varanus salvator, Canis lupus familiaris, and Viverra tangalunga) at different time points, and this determined the length of time that the carcasses persisted in the environment. The amount of pathogenic bacteria on the surfaces of filth flies collected above the experimental carcasses was positively correlated to the duration of carcass persistence, and reduction in pathogenic bacterial abundances was largely due to carcass consumption by these vertebrate scavengers. Instead of a predicted positive spillover effect (greater scavenger activity near forest edges, hence reduced pathogen abundance), we detected a weak inverse spillover effect in which STEC counts were marginally higher in plantation sections near forest patches, and human hunting along the forest-plantation boundaries could explain this. We propose that making oil palm plantations scavenger- friendly could yield great human health benefits for the millions of workers employed in this rapidly-expanding industry, without drastically changing current management practices. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus National Institute of Education, Singapore: NIE Digital Repository |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
National Institute of Education, Singapore: NIE Digital Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftninstesingap |
language |
English |
topic |
Carcass removal Filth flies Salmonella Shiga toxin-producing E. coli Spillover effect |
spellingShingle |
Carcass removal Filth flies Salmonella Shiga toxin-producing E. coli Spillover effect Lim, Norman (Norman T-Lon) Kelt, Douglas A. Lim, Kelvin K. P. Bernard, Henry Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations |
topic_facet |
Carcass removal Filth flies Salmonella Shiga toxin-producing E. coli Spillover effect |
description |
Scavenging is a common phenomenon, particularly amongst carnivorous vertebrates. By consuming carrion, vertebrate scavengers reduce resource availability for both pathogenic bacteria and their insect vectors. We investigated the ability of wild vertebrate scavengers to control agents of human diarrheal diseases (specifically Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin- producing Escherichia coli [STEC]) in oil palm plantations in Sabah (East Malaysia), and the existence of spillover effect whereby additional vertebrate scavengers from adjacent forest patches result in greater disease control in plantation sections near these forest edges. Experimental carcasses were removed by common scavengers (Varanus salvator, Canis lupus familiaris, and Viverra tangalunga) at different time points, and this determined the length of time that the carcasses persisted in the environment. The amount of pathogenic bacteria on the surfaces of filth flies collected above the experimental carcasses was positively correlated to the duration of carcass persistence, and reduction in pathogenic bacterial abundances was largely due to carcass consumption by these vertebrate scavengers. Instead of a predicted positive spillover effect (greater scavenger activity near forest edges, hence reduced pathogen abundance), we detected a weak inverse spillover effect in which STEC counts were marginally higher in plantation sections near forest patches, and human hunting along the forest-plantation boundaries could explain this. We propose that making oil palm plantations scavenger- friendly could yield great human health benefits for the millions of workers employed in this rapidly-expanding industry, without drastically changing current management practices. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lim, Norman (Norman T-Lon) Kelt, Douglas A. Lim, Kelvin K. P. Bernard, Henry |
author_facet |
Lim, Norman (Norman T-Lon) Kelt, Douglas A. Lim, Kelvin K. P. Bernard, Henry |
author_sort |
Lim, Norman (Norman T-Lon) |
title |
Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations |
title_short |
Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations |
title_full |
Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations |
title_fullStr |
Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations |
title_sort |
vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10497/22582 https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2020.59-63 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.25340/R4/S2QLJE Lim, N. T-L., Kelt, D. A., Lim, K. K. P., & Bernard, H. (2020). Vertebrate scavengers control abundance of diarrheal-causing bacteria in tropical plantations. Zoological Studies, 59, Article 63. https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2020.59-63 1810-522X http://hdl.handle.net/10497/22582 doi:10.6620/ZS.2020.59-63 |
op_rights |
Open |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2020.59-63 https://doi.org/10.25340/R4/S2QLJE |
_version_ |
1766385769959653376 |