sin nombre virus and rodent species diversity a test of the dilution and amplification hypotheses犯罪数量病毒和啮齿动物物种多样性测试稀释和放大的假设.pdfVIP

Sin Nombre Virus and Rodent Species Diversity: A Test of the Dilution and Amplification Hypotheses 1 2 3 4 Christine A. Clay *, Erin M. Lehmer , Stephen St. Jeor , M. Denise Dearing 1 Department of Biology, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America, 2 Department of Biology, Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado, United States of America, 3 School of Medicine, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada, United States of America, 4 Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America Abstract Background: Species diversity is proposed to greatly impact the prevalence of pathogens. Two predominant hypotheses, the ‘‘Dilution Effect’’ and the ‘‘Amplification Effect’’, predict divergent outcomes with respect to the impact of species diversity. The Dilution Effect predicts that pathogen prevalence will be negatively correlated with increased species diversity, while the Amplification Effect predicts that pathogen prevalence will be positively correlated with diversity. For many host-pathogen systems, the relationship between diversity and pathogen prevalence has not be empirically examined. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested the Dilution and Amplification Effect hypotheses by examining the prevalence of Sin Nombre virus (SNV) with respect to diversity of the nocturnal rodent community. SNV is directly transmitted primarily between deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). Using mark-recapture sampling in the Spring and Fall of 2003–2005, we measured SNV prevalence in deer mice at 16 landscape level sites (3.1 hectares each) that varied in rodent species diversity. We explored several mechanisms by which species diversity