Additional file 7 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 7: Figure S6. Partial dependency plots for (a) I. ricinus and (b) I. persulcatus solely based on host data.

Population cycles and outbreaks of small rodents: ten essential questions we still need to solve

AbstractMost small rodent populations in the world have fascinating population dynamics. In the northern hemisphere, voles and lemmings tend to show population cycles with regular fluctuations in numbers. In the southern hemisphere, small rodents tend to have large amplitude outbreaks with less regular intervals. In the light of vast research and debate over almost a century, we here discuss the driving forces of these different rodent population dynamics. We highlight ten questions directly related to the various characteristics of relevant populations and ecosystems that still need to be answered. This overview is not intended as a complete list of questions but rather focuses on the most…

ENDEMIC HANTAVIRUS INFECTION IMPAIRS THE WINTER SURVIVAL OF ITS RODENT HOST

The influence of pathogens on host fitness is one of the key questions in infection ecology. Hantaviruses have coevolved with their hosts and are generally thought to have little or no effect on host survival or reproduction. We examined the effect of Puumala virus (PUUV) infection on the winter survival of bank voles (Myodes glareolus), the host of this virus. The data were collected by monitoring 22 islands over three consecutive winters (a total of 55 island populations) in an endemic area of central Finland. We show that PUUV infected bank voles had a significantly lower overwinter survival probability than antibody negative bank voles. Antibody negative female bank voles from low-densi…

AbstractUnderstanding the dynamics of zoonotic pathogens in their reservoir host populations is a prerequisite for predicting and preventing human disease epidemics. The human infection risk of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is highest in northern Europe, where populations of the rodent host (bank vole, Myodes glareolus) undergo cyclic fluctuations. We conducted a 7-year capture-mark-recapture study to monitor seasonal and multiannual patterns of the PUUV infection rate in bank vole populations exhibiting a 3-year density cycle. Infected bank voles were most abundant in mid-winter months during years of increasing or peak host density. Prevalence of PUUV infection in bank voles exhibited a regul…

Microevolution of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) at neutral and immune-related genes during multiannual dynamic cycles: consequences for Puumala hantavirus epidemiology.

ABSTRACTUnderstanding how host dynamics, including variations of population size and dispersal, may affect the epidemiology of infectious diseases through ecological and evolutionary processes is an active research area. Here we focus on a bank vole (Myodes glareolus) metapopulation surveyed in Finland between 2005 and 2009. Bank vole is the reservoir of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV), the agent of nephropathia epidemica (NE, a mild form of hemorrhagic fever with renal symptom) in humans.M glareoluspopulations experience multiannual density fluctuations that may influence the level of genetic diversity maintained in bank voles, PUUV prevalence and NE occurrence. We examine bank vole metapopulati…

The impact of weather and the phase of the rodent cycle on breeding populations of waterbirds in Finnish Lapland

Climate change may affect bird populations both directly by changing the weather conditions, and indirectly through changes in the food chain. While both theoretical and empirical studies have shown climate change having drastic impacts on polar areas, its consequences on Arctic bird species are still poorly known. Here we investigated how weather and changes in predator–prey interactions affected the annual growth rates of sub-Arctic birds by monitoring the breeding numbers of three duck and seven wader species in the alpine tundra of Finnish Lapland during 2005–2015 (except for 2006). We hypothesized that growth rates of waterbirds would be positively associated with warm and dry weather …

Hantavirus infections in fluctuating host populations: the role of maternal antibodies.

Infected females may transfer maternal antibodies (MatAbs) to their offspring, which may then be transiently protected against infections the mother has encountered. However, the role of maternal protection in infectious disease dynamics in wildlife has largely been neglected. Here, we investigate the effects of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV)-specific MatAbs on PUUV dynamics, using 7 years' data from a cyclic bank vole population in Finland. For the first time to our knowledge, we partition seropositivity data from a natural population into separate dynamic patterns for MatAbs and infection. The likelihood of young of the year carrying PUUV-specific MatAbs during the breeding season correlated p…

Supporting information for The impact of wildlife and environmental factors on hantavirus infection in host and its translation into human risk

It contains describtive plot for data, supplementary methods and results

Cyclic hantavirus epidemics in humans--predicted by rodent host dynamics.

Wildlife-originated zoonotic diseases are a major contributor to emerging infectious diseases. Hantaviruses cause thousands of human disease cases annually worldwide, and understanding and predicting human hantavirus epidemics still poses unsolved challenges. Here we studied the three-level relationships between the human disease nephropathia epidemica (NE), its etiological agent Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) and the rodent host of the virus, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). A large and long-term data set (14 years, 2583 human NE cases and 4751 trapped bank voles) indicates that the number of human infections shows both seasonal and multi-annual fluctuations, is influenced by the phase of vole…

Additional file 3 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 3: Figure S3. The range (lines) and mean (dots) of model performances over 50 model runs in each model algorithm estimating habitat suitabilities for I. persulcatus in different variable compositions: (a) environmental only, (b) host only, (c) environmental and host, and (d) environmental, host, and suitability for I. ricinus.

Additional file 4 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 4: Figure S4. The relative contributions of the explanatory variables in the data set of (a) host only, (b) environment only based on the mean ensemble model.

Experimental investigation of a hantavirus host-switch between arvicoline rodents Lemmus lemmus and Myodes glareolus

Additional file 8 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 8: Figure S7. Partial dependency plots for (a) I. ricinus and (b) I. persulcatus based on combined host and environmental data, and habitat suitability data for the other tick species.

Prolonged survival of Puumala hantavirus outside the host: evidence for indirect transmission via the environment

The capability of rodent-borne viruses to survive outside the host is critical for the transmission dynamics within rodent populations and to humans. The transmission of Puumala virus (PUUV) in colonized bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) was investigated and additional longevity studies in cell culture with PUUV and Tula (TULV) hantaviruses were performed. Wild-type PUUV excreted by experimentally infected donor bank voles was shown to be transmitted indirectly between rodents through contaminated beddings, and maintained its infectivity to recipient voles at room temperature for 12–15 days. In cell culture supernatants, PUUV and TULV remained infectious for 5–11 days at room temperature…

Nonlinear effects of climate on boreal rodent dynamics: mild winters do not negate high-amplitude cycles

Small rodents are key species in many ecosystems. In boreal and subarctic environments, their importance is heightened by pronounced multiannual population cycles. Alarmingly, the previously regular rodent cycles appear to be collapsing simultaneously in many areas. Climate change, particularly decreasing snow quality or quantity in winter, is hypothesized as a causal factor, but the evidence is contradictory. Reliable analysis of population dynamics and the influence of climate thereon necessitate spatially and temporally extensive data. We combined data on vole abundances and climate, collected at 33 locations throughout Finland from 1970 to 2011, to test the hypothesis that warming winte…

Additional file 3 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 3: Figure S3. The range (lines) and mean (dots) of model performances over 50 model runs in each model algorithm estimating habitat suitabilities for I. persulcatus in different variable compositions: (a) environmental only, (b) host only, (c) environmental and host, and (d) environmental, host, and suitability for I. ricinus.

Density-dependent vole damage in silviculture and associated economic losses at a nationwide scale

Voles inflict damage to silviculture by debarking or severing tree seedlings. The large-scale impacts of vole damage to silviculture, both in terms of severity and financial losses are, however, poorly known. In autumn 2005, cyclically fluctuating vole populations were at their highest in Finland for over 15 years, which led to extensive damage to silviculture during the winter 2005/06. We carried out a nationwide assessment of the incidence, spatial extent and economic value of damage and its relation to vole abundance in privately owned forests during this winter. Damage data were obtained with a questionnaire addressed to the directors of all Forest Management Associations (FMAs) operati…

Harmonizing circumpolar monitoring of Arctic fox: benefits, opportunities, challenges and recommendations.

Source at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2017.1319602 The biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council has developed pan-Arctic biodiversity monitoring plans to improve our ability to detect, understand and report on long-term change in Arctic biodiversity. The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) was identified as a target of future monitoring because of its circumpolar distribution, ecological importance and reliance on Arctic ecosystems. We provide the first exhaustive survey of contemporary Arctic fox monitoring programmes, describing 34 projects located in eight countries. Monitored populations covered equally the four climate zones of the species’ distribution, and there were large dif…

Climate change reshuffles northern species within their niches

Climate change is a pervasive threat to biodiversity. While range shifts are a known consequence of climate warming contributing to regional community change, less is known about how species' positions shift within their climatic niches. Furthermore, whether the relative importance of different climatic variables prompting such shifts varies with changing climate remains unclear. Here we analysed four decades of data for 1,478 species of birds, mammals, butterflies, moths, plants and phytoplankton along a 1,200 km high latitudinal gradient. The relative importance of climatic drivers varied non-uniformly with progressing climate change. While species turnover among decades was limited, the …

Additional file 6 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 6: Figure S5. Partial dependency plots for (a) I. ricinus and (b) I. persulcatus solely based on environmental data.

Additional file 5 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 5: Table S1. The number of times each model contributed to the final ensemble in different data sets.

Food provisioning alters infection dynamics in populations of a wild rodent

While pathogens are often assumed to limit the growth of wildlife populations, experimental evidence for their effects is rare. A lack of food resources has been suggested to enhance the negative effects of pathogen infection on host populations, but this theory has received little investigation. We conducted a replicated two-factor enclosure experiment, with introduction of the bacteriumBordetella bronchisepticaand food supplementation, to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of pathogen infection and food availability on vole populations during a boreal winter. We show that prior to bacteria introduction, vole populations were limited by food availability.Bordetella bronchisept…

Description of research methods and results tables from Food limitation constrains host immune responses to nematode infections

Trade-offs in the allocation of finite-energy resources among immunological defences and other physiological processes are believed to influence infection risk and disease severity in food-limited wildlife populations. However, this prediction has received little experimental investigation. Here we test the hypothesis that food limitation impairs the ability of wild field voles (Microtus agrestis) to mount an immune response against parasite infections. We conducted a replicated experiment on vole populations maintained in large outdoor enclosures during boreal winter, using food supplementation and anthelmintic treatment of intestinal nematodes. Innate immune responses against intestinal p…

Food resources and intestinal parasites as limiting factors for boreal vole populations during winter

Processes limiting the growth of cyclic vole populations have stimulated considerable research and debate over several decades. In Fennoscandia, the peak density of cyclic vole populations occurs in fall, and is followed by a severe winter decline. Food availability and intestinal parasites have been demonstrated to independently and synergistically limit wildlife populations. The purpose of this study was to directly compare competing food and parasite hypotheses on the limitation of overwintering high-density vole populations. Moreover, we evaluated the ability of food limitation and nematode infection to interact and thereby intensify population declines. A two-factor experiment with foo…

Erratum: Temporal dynamics of Puumala hantavirus infection in cyclic populations of bank voles.

Understanding the dynamics of zoonotic pathogens in their reservoir host populations is a prerequisite for predicting and preventing human disease epidemics. The human infection risk of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is highest in northern Europe, where populations of the rodent host (bank vole, Myodes glareolus) undergo cyclic fluctuations. We conducted a 7-year capture-mark-recapture study to monitor seasonal and multiannual patterns of the PUUV infection rate in bank vole populations exhibiting a 3-year density cycle. Infected bank voles were most abundant in mid-winter months during years of increasing or peak host density. Prevalence of PUUV infection in bank voles exhibited a regular, seas…

Curvilinear interspecific density-range size relationship in small mammals in Finland

ABSTRACTAim Macroecological patterns have mainly been depicted as atemporal, withexisting research covering only short time periods. One fundamental pattern inmacroecology is the interspecific relationship between local abundance andregional range size, which is generally considered to be positively linear. Here,we examine structural details of the relationship between abundance and rangesize in cyclic populations of small mammals and its long-term temporal varia-tion.Location Finland.Methods We analysed 39 years of trapping data of Rodentia and Soricomor-pha collected in field and forest habitats across Finland. Abundance was mea-sured as the mean population density of individuals, and range…

Additional file 2 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 2: Figure S2. The range (lines) and mean (dots) of model performances over 50 model runs in each model algorithm estimating habitat suitabilities for I. ricinus in different variable compositions: (a) environmental only, (b) host only, (c) environmental and host, and (d) environmental, host, and suitability for I. ricinus.

Experimental Infection of Voles with Francisella tularensis Indicates Their Amplification Role in Tularemia Outbreaks

Tularemia outbreaks in humans have been linked to fluctuations in rodent population density, but the mode of bacterial maintenance in nature is unclear. Here we report on an experiment to investigate the pathogenesis of Francisella tularensis infection in wild rodents, and thereby assess their potential to spread the bacterium. We infected 20 field voles (Microtus agrestis) and 12 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) with a strain of F. tularensis ssp. holarctica isolated from a human patient. Upon euthanasia or death, voles were necropsied and specimens collected for histological assessment and identification of bacteria by immunohistology and PCR. Bacterial excretion and a rapid lethal clinical …

Serological Survey of Rodent-Borne Viruses in Finnish Field Voles

In northern Europe, rodent populations display cyclic density fluctuations, which can be correlated with the human incidence of zoonotic diseases they spread. During density peaks, field voles (Microtus agrestis) become one of the most abundant rodent species in northern Europe, yet little is known of the viruses they host. We screened 709 field voles, trapped from 14 sites over three years, for antibodies against four rodent-borne, potentially zoonotic viruses or virus groups: hantaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), Ljungan virus (LV) and orthopoxviruses (OPV). Antibodies against all four viruses were detected. However, seroprevalence of hantaviruses, LV and LCMV was low. …

Additional file 7 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 7: Figure S6. Partial dependency plots for (a) I. ricinus and (b) I. persulcatus solely based on host data.

The impact of wildlife and environmental factors on hantavirus infection in the host and its translation into human risk

Identifying factors that drive infection dynamics in reservoir host populations is essential in understanding human risk from wildlife-originated zoonoses. We studied zoonotic Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) in the host, the bank vole ( Myodes glareolus ), populations in relation to the host population, rodent and predator community and environment-related factors and whether these processes are translated into human infection incidence. We used 5-year rodent trapping and bank vole PUUV serology data collected from 30 sites located in 24 municipalities in Finland. We found that PUUV seroprevalence in the host was negatively associated with the abundance of red foxes, but this process did no…

Environmental change and disease dynamics: effects of intensive forest management on Puumala hantavirus infection in boreal bank vole populations.

Intensive management of Fennoscandian forests has led to a mosaic of woodlands in different stages of maturity. The main rodent host of the zoonotic Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), a species that can be found in all woodlands and especially mature forests. We investigated the influence of forest age structure on PUUV infection dynamics in bank voles. Over four years, we trapped small mammals twice a year in a forest network of different succession stages in Northern Finland. Our study sites represented four forest age classes from young (4 to 30 years) to mature (over 100 years) forests. We show that PUUV-infected bank voles occurred commonly in all forest age…

Yersiniaspp. in Wild Rodents and Shrews in Finland

Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis are important zoonotic bacteria causing human enteric yersiniosis commonly reported in Europe. All Y. pseudotuberculosis strains are considered pathogenic, while Y. enterocolitica include both pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains which can be divided into six biotypes (1A, 1B, and 2-5) and about 30 serotypes. The most common types causing yersiniosis in Europe are Y. enterocolitica bioserotypes 4/O:3 and 2/O:9. Strains belonging to biotype 1A are considered as nonpathogenic because they are missing important virulence genes like the attachment-invasion-locus (ail) gene in the chromosome and the virulence plasmid. The role of wild small…

Food limitation constrains host immune responses to nematode infections.

Trade-offs in the allocation of finite-energy resources among immunological defences and other physiological processes are believed to influence infection risk and disease severity in food-limited wildlife populations. However, this prediction has received little experimental investigation. Here we test the hypothesis that food limitation impairs the ability of wild field voles ( Microtus agrestis ) to mount an immune response against parasite infections. We conducted a replicated experiment on vole populations maintained in large outdoor enclosures during boreal winter, using food supplementation and anthelmintic treatment of intestinal nematodes. Innate immune responses against intestina…

Additional file 1 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 1: Figure S1. (a) The sampling strategy for new collections in 2021 was created based on the following criteria. Subdivisions of landscape areas (Area1–Area4), CORINE land cover 2018, a 5-km buffer around existing I. persulcatus occurrences (grey circles), and a 500-m buffer around roads were used to delimit the four sampling areas (light grey lines). For each sampling area, a random sample of 25 collection locations was created depending on the relative shares of forest and meadow categories in each area. (b) The map showing the 2021 results indicates the locations where I. ricinus was found with B. burgdorferi (s.l.)-positive locations.

Ilkka Hanski and Small Mammals: from Shrew Metapopulations to Vole and Lemming Cycles

10 pages; International audience; Ilkka Hanski may be best known for his work on insect and metapopulation dynamics, but he also contributed significantly to small mammal research. In the early 1980s he became interested in shrew dynamics, energetics, and of course, shrew metapopulations. He aimed at understanding the population biological consequences of body size in different shrew species. Feeding habits and environmental stochasticity affect shrew species in profoundly different ways: due to their short survival time small species have high extinction rates but their dispersal and colonization capacity is high which enables them to survive as metapopulations. After Hansson and Henttonen…

Serological evidence for Borna disease virus infection in humans, wild rodents and other vertebrates in Finland

Abstract Background Borna disease virus (BDV) can infect many vertebrate species, including humans. BDV infection may lead to meningoencephalomyelitis in animals. An association with human neuropsychiatric diseases has been reported, but the causal relationship between BDV and human disease remains unclear. Objectives and study design To find out whether BDV is present in Finland and to look for a potential reservoir, we examined a large panel of blood samples from different vertebrate species with immunofluorescence assay. Samples from horses, cats, dogs, sheep, cattle, large predators, grouse, wild rodents and humans were included. Most positive results were confirmed by other specific me…

Predator–vole interactions in northern Europe: the role of small mustelids revised

The cyclic population dynamics of vole and predator communities is a key phenomenon in northern ecosystems, and it appears to be influenced by climate change. Reports of collapsing rodent cycles have attributed the changes to warmer winters, which weaken the interaction between voles and their specialist subnivean predators. Using population data collected throughout Finland during 1986–2011, we analyse the spatio-temporal variation in the interactions between populations of voles and specialist, generalist and avian predators, and investigate by simulations the roles of the different predators in the vole cycle. We test the hypothesis that vole population cyclicity is dependent on predator…

Additional file 4 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 4: Figure S4. The relative contributions of the explanatory variables in the data set of (a) host only, (b) environment only based on the mean ensemble model.

Additional file 5 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 5: Table S1. The number of times each model contributed to the final ensemble in different data sets.

Maternal antibodies contribute to sex-based difference in hantavirus transmission dynamics

Individuals often differ in their ability to transmit disease and identifying key individuals for transmission is a major issue in epidemiology. Male hosts are often thought to be more important than females for parasite transmission and persistence. However, the role of infectious females, particularly the transient immunity provided to offspring through maternal antibodies (MatAbs), has been neglected in discussions about sex-biased infection transmission. We examined the effect of host sex upon infection dynamics of zoonotic Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) in semi-natural, experimental populations of bank vole ( Myodes glareolus ). Populations were founded with either females or males that we…

Additional file 8 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 8: Figure S7. Partial dependency plots for (a) I. ricinus and (b) I. persulcatus based on combined host and environmental data, and habitat suitability data for the other tick species.

Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

AbstractBackgroundTicks are responsible for transmitting several notable pathogens worldwide. Finland lies in a zone where two human-biting tick species co-occur:IxodesricinusandIxodespersulcatus. Tick densities have increased in boreal regions worldwide during past decades, and tick-borne pathogens have been identified as one of the major threats to public health in the face of climate change.MethodsWe used species distribution modelling techniques to predict the distributions ofI.ricinusandI.persulcatus,using aggregated historical data from 2014 to 2020 and new tick occurrence data from 2021. By aiming to fill the gaps in tick occurrence data, we created a new sampling strategy across Fin…

Diet Quality Limits Summer Growth of Field Vole Populations

Marked variation occurs in both seasonal and multiannual population density peaks of northern European small mammal species, including voles. The availability of dietary proteins is a key factor limiting the population growth of herbivore species. The objective of this study is to investigate the degree to which protein availability influences the growth of increasing vole populations. We hypothesise that the summer growth of folivorous vole populations is positively associated with dietary protein availability. A field experiment was conducted over a summer reproductive period in 18 vegetated enclosures. Populations of field voles (Microtus agrestis) were randomised amongst three treatment…

Additional file 6 of Predicting habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Finland

Additional file 6: Figure S5. Partial dependency plots for (a) I. ricinus and (b) I. persulcatus solely based on environmental data.

Data from: Food limitation constrains host immune responses to nematode infections

Trade-offs in the allocation of finite-energy resources among immunological defences and other physiological processes are believed to influence infection risk and disease severity in food-limited wildlife populations. However, this prediction has received little experimental investigation. Here we test the hypothesis that food limitation impairs the ability of wild field voles (Microtus agrestis) to mount an immune response against parasite infections. We conducted a replicated experiment on vole populations maintained in large outdoor enclosures during boreal winter, using food supplementation and anthelmintic treatment of intestinal nematodes. Innate immune responses against intestinal p…

Appendix A. Structure of missing data (see data analysis of Methods section).

Structure of missing data (see data analysis of Methods section).

Data from: Temporal dynamics of Puumala hantavirus infection in cyclic populations of bank voles

Understanding the dynamics of zoonotic pathogens in their reservoir host populations is a prerequisite for predicting and preventing human disease epidemics. The human infection risk of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is highest in northern Europe, where populations of the rodent host (bank vole, Myodes glareolus) undergo cyclic fluctuations. We conducted a 7-year capture-mark-recapture study to monitor seasonal and multiannual patterns of the PUUV infection rate in bank vole populations exhibiting a 3-year density cycle. Infected bank voles were most abundant in mid-winter months during years of increasing or peak host density. Prevalence of PUUV infection in bank voles exhibited a regular, seas…

Data from: Predator–vole interactions in northern Europe: the role of small mustelids revised

The cyclic population dynamics of vole and predator communities is a key phenomenon in northern ecosystems, and it appears to be influenced by climate change. Reports of collapsing rodent cycles have attributed the changes to warmer winters, which weaken the interaction between voles and their specialist subnivean predators. Using population data collected throughout Finland during 1986–2011, we analyse the spatio-temporal variation in the interactions between populations of voles and specialist, generalist and avian predators, and investigate by simulations the roles of the different predators in the vole cycle. We test the hypothesis that vole population cyclicity is dependent on predator…

Data from: Maternal antibodies contribute to sex based difference in hantavirus transmission dynamics

Individuals often differ in their ability to transmit disease and identifying key individuals for transmission is a major issue in epidemiology. Male hosts are often thought to be more important than females for parasite transmission and persistence. However, the role of infectious females, particularly the transient immunity provided to offspring through maternal antibodies (MatAbs), has been neglected in discussions about sex-biased infection transmission. We examined the effect of host sex upon infection dynamics of zoonotic Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) in semi-natural, experimental populations of bank vole (Myodes glareolus). Populations were founded with either females or males that were …

Data from: Food provisioning alters infection dynamics in populations of a wild rodent

While pathogens are often assumed to limit the growth of wildlife populations, experimental evidence for their effects is rare. A lack of food resources has been suggested to enhance the negative effects of pathogen infection on host populations, but this theory has received little investigation. We conducted a replicated two-factor enclosure experiment, with introduction of the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica and food supplementation, to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of pathogen infection and food availability on vole populations during a boreal winter. We show that prior to bacteria introduction, vole populations were limited by food availability. Bordetella bronchis…