Interrelationship of soil moisture and temperature to sylvatic plague cycle among prairie dogs in the Western United States
作者机构：Department of Veterinary PathobiologyUniversity of MissouriColumbiaMissouriUSA Division of Plant SciencesUniversity of MissouriColumbiaMissouriUSA
出 版 物：《Integrative Zoology》 (整合动物学（英文版）)
年 卷 期：2021年第16卷第6期
页 面：852-867页
核心收录：
学科分类：090603[农学-临床兽医学] 0710[理学-生物学] 0905[农学-畜牧学] 09[农学] 0906[农学-兽医学]
基 金：Arizona Game and Fish Department USDA-NRCS U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA U.S. Geological Survey, USGS U.S. Forest Service, USFS University of Missouri, MU
主 题：plague prairie dogs soil moisture soil temperature sylvatic cycle Yersinia pestis
摘 要：Plague,caused by Yersinia pestis,is a flea-borne disease that is endemic in areas throughout the world due to its successful maintenance in a sylvatic cycle,mainly in areas with temperate climates.Burrowing rodents are thought to play a key role in the enzootic maintenance as well as epizootic outbreaks of plague.In the United States,prairie dogs(Cynomys),rodents(Muridae),and ground squirrels(Spermophilus)are susceptible to infection and are parasitized by fleas that transmit plague.In particular,prairie dogs can experience outbreaks that rapidly spread,which can lead to extirpation of colonies.A number of ecological parameters,including climate,are associated with these epizootics.In this study,we asked whether soil parameters,primarily moisture and temperature,are associated with outbreaks of plague in black-tailed prairie dogs and Gunnison’s prairie dogs in the Western United States,and at what depth these associations were apparent.We collected publicly available county-level information on the occurrence of population declines or colony extirpation,while historical soil data was collected from SCAN and USCRN stations in counties and states where prairie dogs have been located.The analysis suggests that soil moisture at lower depths correlates with colony die-offs,in addition to temperature near the surface,with key differences within the landscape ecology that impact the occurrence of plague.Overall,the model suggests that the burrow environment may play a significant role in the epizootic spread of disease amongst black-tailed and Gunnison’s prairie dogs.
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