Phylodynamic analysis of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8 epidemic in France, 2016-2017.

In 2016-2017, France experienced a devastating epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8, with more than 400 outbreaks reported in poultry farms. We analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamics of the epidemic using a structured-coalescent-based phylodynamic approach that combined viral genomic data (n = 196; one viral genome per farm) and epidemiological data. In the process, we estimated viral migration rates between départements (French administrative regions) and the temporal dynamics of the effective viral population size (Ne) in each département.

What leads to parallel evolution?

The repeated emergence of similar variants of influenza virus is linked to interactions between the virus's RNA segments.

Effects of host extinction and vector preferences on vector-borne disease risk in phylogenetically structured host-hector communities.

Anthropogenic disturbance impacts the phylogenetic composition and diversity of ecological communities. While changes in diversity are known to dramatically change species interactions and alter disease dynamics, the effects of phylogenetic changes in host and vector communities on disease have been relatively poorly studied. Using a theoretical model, we investigated how phylogeny and extinction influence network structural characteristics relevant to disease transmission in disturbed environments.

Land Use Change Increases Wildlife Parasite Diversity in Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India.

Anthropogenic landscape changes such as land use change and habitat fragmentation are known to alter wildlife diversity. Since host and parasite diversities are strongly connected, landscape changes are also likely to change wildlife parasite diversity with implication for wildlife health. However, research linking anthropogenic landscape change and wildlife parasite diversity is limited, especially comparing effects of land use change and habitat fragmentation, which often cooccur but may affect parasite diversity substantially differently.

The changing ecology of primate parasites: Insights from wild-captive comparisons.

Host movements, including migrations or range expansions, are known to influence parasite communities. Transitions to captivity-a rarely studied yet widespread human-driven host movement-can also change parasite communities, in some cases leading to pathogen spillover among wildlife species, or between wildlife and human hosts. We compared parasite species richness between wild and captive populations of 22 primate species, including macro- (helminths and arthropods) and micro-parasites (viruses, protozoa, bacteria, and fungi).

Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Civets of Fragmented Rainforest Patches in Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India.

:  Parasitism, driven by anthropogenic habitat modifications, is being increasingly recognized as a major threat to wildlife. Unfortunately, even baseline parasite data for most wildlife species are lacking in India, including the civets, which are particularly vulnerable due to their proximity to human habitations. Civet fecal samples were collected from 10 forest fragments that vary in size and disturbance level in Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India.

Mammalian gastrointestinal parasites in rainforest remnants of Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India.

Habitat fragmentation is postulated to be a major factor influencing infectious disease dynamics in wildlife populations and may also be responsible, at least in part, for the recent spurt in the emergence, or re-emergence, of infectious diseases in humans. The mechanism behind these relationships are poorly understood due to the lack of insights into the interacting local factors and insufficient baseline data in ecological parasitology of wildlife. Here, we studied the gastrointestinal parasites of nonhuman mammalian hosts living in 10 rainforest patches of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, India.

Quaternary climate change and social behavior shaped the genetic differentiation of an endangered montane primate from the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Multiple factors, including climate change, dispersal barriers, and social behavior influence the genetic structure of natural populations. While the effects of extrinsic factors such as historical climatic change and habitat topography have been well studied, mostly in temperate habitats, the simultaneous effects of intrinsic factors such as social behavior on genetic structure have rarely been explored. Such simultaneous effect, however, may particularly be common in social mammals such as many primates.

Mixed fortunes: ancient expansion and recent decline in population size of a subtropical montane primate, the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala.

Quaternary glacial oscillations are known to have caused population size fluctuations in many temperate species. Species from subtropical and tropical regions are, however, considerably less studied, despite representing most of the biodiversity hotspots in the world including many highly threatened by anthropogenic activities such as hunting. These regions, consequently, pose a significant knowledge gap in terms of how their fauna have typically responded to past climatic changes.

Genetic polymorphism in the serotonin transporter promoter region and ecological success in macaques.

A well-characterised sequence length polymorphism in the serotonin transporter promoter region (5-HTTLPR) influences individual behavioural traits and cognitive abilities in humans and rhesus macaques. Macaques have been classified into four continuous grades on the basis of their behavioural attributes, ranging from highly hierarchical and nepotistic species to the most egalitarian and tolerant ones. A comparative study of several species that spanned these grades revealed only rhesus macaques to be polymorphic at the 5-HTTLPR and concluded that the polymorphism was responsible for their despotic and aggressive behaviour (Wendland et al.

Phylogenetic relationships and morphometric affinities of the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala, a newly described primate from Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India.

A new species of primate, the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala, belonging to the sinica species-group of the genus, was described from northeastern India in 2005, and, based on its appearance and distribution, hypothesised to be closely related to M. assamensis and M. thibetana.