The Emergence of Disease Ecology

Abstract

　The number of newly recognized diseases affecting humans, domestic animals and wildlife has increased in recent decades and many of these diseases 'emerge' when environmental conditions change to alter contact rates between species. While traditional disease biology or epidemiological studies strive to understand the patterns of outbreak in a single species of interest, it is increasingly evident that management strategies demand more comprehensive understanding of the ecological interactions across wildlife, human, domestic animal and potential vector populations. This paper will introduce the ecological principles underlying pathogen dynamics in ecological systems and highlight current research frontiers in Disease Ecology. Pathogens and parasites are often considered as a disturbance rather than an inherent part of ecological systems, yet the fundamental principles of disease ecology derive from classical theory in population and community ecology.