Population Dynamics of Pathogens with Multiple Host Species

2004/10/15 by Andrew Dobson, Andrew P. Dobson · 580 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · #Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology #Biodiversity #Biology #Disease #Ecology #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics #Evolutionary biology #Host (biology) #Infectious disease (medical specialty) #Outbreak #Population #Virology #Zoonotic diseases and public health

paper · open access · doi:10.1086/424681

published in The American Naturalist 164(S5), S64-S78 (University of Chicago Press)

openalex publication_date 2004/10/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Pathogens that can infect multiple host species will have different dynamics than pathogens that are restricted to a single species of host. This article examines the conditions for establishment and long-term population dynamic behavior of pathogens that infect multiple species of hosts. The article attempts to address three major questions in this area: First, under which conditions will increases in the diversity of host species buffer infectious disease outbreaks, and under which conditions will host diversity amplify disease outbreaks? Second, under what conditions is it possible to control an infectious agent by focusing control against only one host species? Third, what role does host species diversity play in maintaining pathogen persistence? The answers to these questions supply some important general insights into the role that biodiversity plays in buffering humans and other species against new and emerging pathogens.

Citations

• Community Structure, Population Control, and Competition

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