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The diversity–disease relationship: evidence for and criticisms of the dilution effect

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2016

Z. Y. X. HUANG ,
F. VAN LANGEVELDE ,
A. ESTRADA-PEÑA ,
G. SUZÁN  and
W. F. DE BOER
Z. Y. X. HUANG*
Affiliation:
College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
F. VAN LANGEVELDE
Affiliation:
Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
A. ESTRADA-PEÑA
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
G. SUZÁN
Affiliation:
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico
W. F. DE BOER
Affiliation:
Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author: College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China and Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Tel: +86 13921431410. E-mail: zhengyxhuang@gmail.com
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Summary

The dilution effect, that high host species diversity can reduce disease risk, has attracted much attention in the context of global biodiversity decline and increasing disease emergence. Recent studies have criticized the generality of the dilution effect and argued that it only occurs under certain circumstances. Nevertheless, evidence for the existence of a dilution effect was reported in about 80% of the studies that addressed the diversity–disease relationship, and a recent meta-analysis found that the dilution effect is widespread. We here review supporting and critical studies, point out the causes underlying the current disputes. The dilution is expected to be strong when the competent host species tend to remain when species diversity declines, characterized as a negative relationship between species’ reservoir competence and local extinction risk. We here conclude that most studies support a negative competence–extinction relationship. We then synthesize the current knowledge on how the diversity–disease relationship can be modified by particular species in community, by the scales of analyses, and by the disease risk measures. We also highlight the complex role of habitat fragmentation in the diversity–disease relationship from epidemiological, evolutionary and ecological perspectives, and construct a synthetic framework integrating these three perspectives. We suggest that future studies should test the diversity–disease relationship across different scales and consider the multiple effects of landscape fragmentation.

Keywords

competence–extinction relationshipidentity effectinfection prevalenceabundanceamplification effecthabitat fragmentation
Type
Review Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 143 , Issue 9 , August 2016 , pp. 1075 - 1086
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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Footnotes

†

Present address: Nanjing Normal University, Wenyuan Road 1, 210046 Nanjing, China.

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