Abstract
Natural disturbances can drive disease dynamics in animal populations by altering the microclimates experienced by hosts and their pathogens. Many pathogens are highly sensitive to temperature and moisture, and therefore small changes in habitat structure can alter the microclimate in ways that increase or decrease infection prevalence and intensity in host populations. Here we show that a reduction of rainforest canopy cover caused by a severe tropical cyclone decreased the risk of endangered rainforest frogs (Litoria rheocola) becoming infected by a fungal pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). Reductions in canopy cover increased the temperatures and rates of evaporative water loss in frog microhabitats, which reduced B. dendrobatidis infection risk in frogs by an average of 11–28% in cyclone-damaged areas, relative to unaffected areas. Natural disturbances to the rainforest canopy can therefore provide an immediate benefit to frogs by altering the microclimate in ways that reduce infection risk. This could increase host survival and reduce the probability of epidemic disease outbreaks. For amphibian populations under immediate threat from this pathogen, targeted manipulation of canopy cover could increase the availability of warmer, drier microclimates and therefore tip the balance from host extinction to coexistence.
Highlights
In these conditions caused by habitat disturbances can have important implications for their growth and survival, in hosts or in environmental reservoirs[19,20,21,22]
Structural damage can alter the microclimates available to animals living beneath the canopy[38,39], and such changes could be important drivers of B. dendrobatidis infection dynamics because many forested areas are subject to natural disturbances that reduce canopy cover
Cyclone Yasi impacted a large area of the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia (Fig. 1), but damage to rainforest canopy cover within this area was spatially heterogeneous
Summary
In these conditions caused by habitat disturbances can have important implications for their growth and survival, in hosts or in environmental reservoirs[19,20,21,22]. Structural damage can alter the microclimates available to animals living beneath the canopy[38,39], and such changes could be important drivers of B. dendrobatidis infection dynamics because many forested areas are subject to natural disturbances that reduce canopy cover. Strong winds, such as those accompanying cyclones and hurricanes, can cause great damage to the canopy structure in tropical rainforests[38,39]. We predicted that these changes in canopy structure and microclimate caused by the cyclone would benefit frogs by reducing infection risk, and that these effects would be an immediate and positive outcome of storm systems that otherwise cause widespread destruction
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