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Applied ecoimmunology: using immunological tools to improve conservation efforts in a changing world
Citation
Ohmer, MEB and Costantini, D and Czirjak, GA and Downs, CJ and Ferguson, LV and Flies, A and Franklin, CE and Kayigwe, AN and Knutie, S and Richards-Zawacki, CL and Cramp, RL, Applied ecoimmunology: using immunological tools to improve conservation efforts in a changing world, Conservation Physiology, 9, (1) pp. 1-16. ISSN 2051-1434 (2021) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2021 the Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
DOI: doi:10.1093/conphys/coab074
Abstract
Ecoimmunology is a rapidly developing field that explores how the environment shapes immune function, which in turn
influences host–parasite relationships and disease outcomes. Host immune defence is a key fitness determinant because it
underlies the capacity of animals to resist or tolerate potential infections. Importantly, immune function can be suppressed,
depressed, reconfigured or stimulated by exposure to rapidly changing environmental drivers like temperature, pollutants
and food availability. Thus, hosts may experience trade-offs resulting from altered investment in immune function under
environmental stressors. As such, approaches in ecoimmunology can provide powerful tools to assist in the conservation
of wildlife. Here, we provide case studies that explore the diverse ways that ecoimmunology can inform and advance
conservation efforts, from understanding how Galapagos finches will fare with introduced parasites, to using methods from
human oncology to design vaccines against a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils. In addition, we discuss the future of
ecoimmunology and present 10 questions that can help guide this emerging field to better inform conservation decisions and
biodiversity protection. From better linking changes in immune function to disease outcomes under different environmental
conditions, to understanding how individual variation contributes to disease dynamics in wild populations, there is immense
potential for ecoimmunology to inform the conservation of imperilled hosts in the face of new and re-emerging pathogens,
in addition to improving the detection and management of emerging potential zoonoses.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | eco-immunology. conservation, physiology, immunology, synthesis |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Zoology |
| Research Field: | Animal immunology |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences |
| UTAS Author: | Flies, A (Dr Andy Flies) |
| UTAS Author: | Kayigwe, AN (Mr Ahab Kayigwe) |
| ID Code: | 147020 |
| Year Published: | 2021 |
| Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (DE180100484) |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 2 |
| Deposited By: | Menzies Institute for Medical Research |
| Deposited On: | 2021-10-08 |
| Last Modified: | 2021-11-02 |
| Downloads: | 6 View Download Statistics |
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