TY - JOUR
T1 - “Weight of evidence” as a tool for evaluating disease in wildlife
T2 - An example assessing parasitic infection in Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)
AU - Henry, Cassandra
AU - Brym, Matthew Z.
AU - Skinner, Kalin
AU - Blanchard, Kendall R.
AU - Henry, Brett J.
AU - Hay, Alyssa L.
AU - Herzog, Jessica L.
AU - Kalyanasundaram, Aravindan
AU - Kendall, Ronald J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - The potential of parasites to affect host abundance has been a topic of heated contention within the scientific community for some time, with many maintaining that issues such as habitat loss are more important in regulating wildlife populations than diseases. This is in part due to the difficulty in detecting and quantifying the consequences of disease, such as parasitic infection, within wild systems. An example of this is found in the Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginanus), an iconic game bird that is one of the most extensively studied vertebrates on the planet. Yet, despite countless volumes dedicated to the study and management of this bird, bobwhite continue to disappear from fields, forest margins, and grasslands across the United States in what some have referred to as “our greatest wildlife tragedy”. Here, we will discuss the history of disease and wildlife conservation, some of the challenges wildlife disease studies face in the ever-changing world, and how a “weight of evidence” approach has been invaluable to evaluating the impact of parasites on bobwhite in the Rolling Plains of Texas. Through this, we highlight the potential of using “weight of the evidence” to better understand the complex effects of diseases on wildlife and urge a greater consideration of the importance of disease in wildlife conservation.
AB - The potential of parasites to affect host abundance has been a topic of heated contention within the scientific community for some time, with many maintaining that issues such as habitat loss are more important in regulating wildlife populations than diseases. This is in part due to the difficulty in detecting and quantifying the consequences of disease, such as parasitic infection, within wild systems. An example of this is found in the Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginanus), an iconic game bird that is one of the most extensively studied vertebrates on the planet. Yet, despite countless volumes dedicated to the study and management of this bird, bobwhite continue to disappear from fields, forest margins, and grasslands across the United States in what some have referred to as “our greatest wildlife tragedy”. Here, we will discuss the history of disease and wildlife conservation, some of the challenges wildlife disease studies face in the ever-changing world, and how a “weight of evidence” approach has been invaluable to evaluating the impact of parasites on bobwhite in the Rolling Plains of Texas. Through this, we highlight the potential of using “weight of the evidence” to better understand the complex effects of diseases on wildlife and urge a greater consideration of the importance of disease in wildlife conservation.
KW - Bobwhite
KW - Conservation
KW - Parasites
KW - Weight of evidence
KW - Wildlife disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089156089&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.07.009
DO - 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.07.009
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089156089
VL - 13
SP - 27
EP - 37
JO - International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
JF - International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
SN - 2213-2244
ER -