Potential parasite transmission in multi-host networks based on parasite sharing.
Epidemiological networks are commonly used to explore dynamics of parasite transmission among individuals in a population of a given host species. However, many parasites infect multiple host species, and thus multi-host networks may offer a better framework for investigating parasite dynamics. We investigated the factors that influence parasite sharing--and thus potential transmission pathways--among rodent hosts in Southeast Asia. We focused on differences between networks of a single host species and networks that involve multiple host species. In host-parasite networks, modularity (the extent to which the network is divided into subgroups of rodents that interact with similar parasites) was higher in the multi-species than in the single-species networks. This suggests that phylogeny affects patterns of parasite sharing, which was confirmed in analyses showing that it predicted affiliation of individuals to modules. We then constructed "potential transmission networks" based on the host-parasite networks, in which edges depict the similarity between a pair of individuals in the parasites they share. The centrality of individuals in these networks differed between multi- and single-species networks, with species identity and individual characteristics influencing their position in the networks. Simulations further revealed that parasite dynamics differed between multi- and single-species networks. We conclude that multi-host networks based on parasite sharing can provide new insights into the potential for transmission among hosts in an ecological community. In addition, the factors that determine the nature of parasite sharing (i.e. structure of the host-parasite network) may impact transmission patterns.
Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
Shai
S
Pilosof
Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Montpellier, France; Unité de Recherche Animal et Gestion Intégrée des Risques, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Montpellier, France; Centre d'Infectiologie Christophe Mérieux du Laos (CICML), Ministry of Health of Lao PDR, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Serge
S
Morand
Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
Boris R
BR
Krasnov
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology & Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
Charles L
CL
Nunn
D000818:Animals; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000635:transmission*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D012377:Rodentia