The influence of habitat heterogeneity on host-pathogen population dynamics.
1993
Grosholz E.D.
The influence of spatial heterogeneity on the population dynamics of a naturally occurring invertebrate host-pathogen system was experimentally investigated. At ten week intervals over a two year period, the spatial distribution of natural populations of the terrestrial isopod crustacean Porcellio scaber infected with the isopod iridescent virus (IIV) was quantified. During the seasonally dry periods of summer and early fall in central California, isopod populations were highly aggregated and the degree of patchiness and distance between inhabited patches was greatest. Coincident with increased patchiness and patch spacing was an increase in isopod density within patches. During the wet seasons of winter and spring, isopod population patchiness, inter-patch spacing, and within-patch density was low. Seasonal changes in virus prevalence were negatively correlated with within-patch density, patchiness, and inter-patch spacing. The influence of the spatial distribution of isopods on virus prevalence was also tested in field experiments. The virus was introduced into arrays of artificial habitat patches colonized by isopods in which inter-patch distance was varied. The prevalence of resulting infections was monitored at weekly intervals. In addition, dispersal rates between artificial patches and natural patches were quantified and compared. The results showed that isopods in treatments with the smallest inter-patch spacing had the highest virus prevalence, with generally lower prevalence among isopods in more widely spaced patches.
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