The Stockholm Paradigm Explains the Dynamics of Darwin’s Entangled Bank, Including Emerging Infectious Disease

Pathogens and their hosts are embedded within the larger biosphere, what Darwin called the “entangled bank.” Emerging infectious disease occurs when a parasite “switches” to a new host. Understanding the dynamics of emerging disease requires understanding the dynamics of host-switching, which requires a more general understanding of how the biosphere and its constituent members cope when conditions change. The Stockholm paradigm is an integrative evolutionary framework that describes how living systems cope with change by oscillating between exploiting and exploring the geographical and functional dimensions of their environments. It combines organismal capacity, ecological opportunity, and the repeated external perturbations to the conditions that drive the interaction between capacity and opportunity, catalyzing the dynamics of the entangled bank. The Stockholm paradigm makes clear that emerging disease is an expected outcome of the expression of the same evolutionary potential that governs the response of the rest of the biosphere when conditions change

Reduced mitochondrial efficiency explains mismatched growth and metabolic rate at supraoptimal temperatures.

The relationship between whole-organism growth and metabolism is generally assumed to be positive and causative; higher metabolic rates support higher growth rates. In Manduca sexta, existing data demonstrate a deviation from this simple prediction: at supraoptimal temperatures for larval growth, metabolic rate keeps increasing while growth rate is decreasing. This mismatch presumably reflects the rising “cost of maintenance” with temperature. Precisely what constitutes this cost is not clear, but we suspect the efficiency with which mitochondria harness oxygen and organic substrates into cellular energy (ATP) is key. We tested this by integrating existing data on M. sexta growth and metabolism with new data on mitochondrial bioenergetics across the temperature range 14°–42°C. Across this range, our measure of mitochondrial efficiency closely paralleled larval growth rates. At supraoptimal temperatures for growth, mitochondrial efficiency was reduced, which could explain the mismatch between growth and metabolism observed at the whole-organism level

Emergent non-consumptive predator effects alter habitat colonization by mosquitoes

Top-down consumptive control (suppression) is an important driver of populations and communities of prey organisms. Diverse predator assemblages often yield non-linear suppression with respect to constituent species’ effects (emergence); most often diversity enhances suppression. Predators also affect prey organisms non-consumptively through changes in prey physiological, physical, spatial, temporal, and behavioral responses to predators. Role of predator diversity in non-consumptive response by prey is relatively un-studied. Role of predator diversity in shaping prey populations and communities through habitat colonization is a novel question

A Macrophysiological Analysis of Energetic Constraints on Geographic Range Size in Mammals

Physiological processes are essential for understanding the distribution and abundance of organisms, and recently, with widespread attention to climate change, physiology has been ushered back to the forefront of ecological thinking. We present a macrophysiological analysis of the energetics of geographic range size using combined data on body size, basal metabolic rate (BMR), phylogeny and range properties for 574 species of mammals. We propose three mechanisms by which interspecific variation in BMR should relate positively to geographic range size: (i) Thermal Plasticity Hypothesis, (ii) Activity Levels/Dispersal Hypothesis, and (iii) Energy Constraint Hypothesis. Although each mechanism predicts a positive correlation between BMR and range size, they can be further distinguished based on the shape of the relationship they predict. We found evidence for the predicted positive relationship in two dimensions of energetics: (i) the absolute, mass-dependent dimension (BMR) and (ii) the relative, mass-independent dimension (MIBMR). The shapes of both relationships were similar and most consistent with that expected from the Energy Constraint Hypothesis, which was proposed previously to explain the classic macroecological relationship between range size and body size in mammals and birds. The fact that this pattern holds in the MIBMR dimension indicates that species with supra-allometric metabolic rates require among the largest ranges, above and beyond the increasing energy demands that accrue as an allometric consequence of large body size. The relationship is most evident at high latitudes north of the Tropics, where large ranges and elevated MIBMR are most common. Our results suggest that species that are most vulnerable to extinction from range size reductions are both large-bodied and have elevated MIBMR, but also, that smaller species with elevated MIBMR are at heightened risk. We also provide insights into the global latitudinal trends in range size and MIBMR and more general issues of phylogenetic and geographic scale

Stepping-stones and Mediators of Pandemic Expansion—A Context for Humans as Ecological Super-spreaders

Humans represent ecological super-spreaders in the dissemination and introduction of pathogens. These processes, consistent with the dynamics of the Stockholm paradigm, are exemplified in the origin and globalized distributions of SARS-CoV-2 since initial recognition in central Asia during 2019 and 2020. SARS-like viruses are not widespread in mammals but appear widespread in chiropterans. Bats are isolated ecologically from most other assemblages of mammals in terrestrial systems. Humans may be the stepping-stone hosts for broad global dissemination and wider infection (given the opportunity) among diverse assemblages of mammals in which host and viral capacity are compatible. Human globalization mediated insertion in global ecosystems along primary and secondary pathways initially with localized to regional circulation across continents. Origins and persistence of cycles involving variants and viral transmission among other mammals and the potential for secondary exposure (retrocolonization) of people occurs on multidirectional pathways. Humans were responsible for the initial breakdown in ecological isolation of the virus that facilitated colonization events from chiropterans to other mammals. In the absence of these human drivers, environmental or ecological interfaces (boundary zones among habitats) limiting the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 are unlikely to have been crossed, leaving a diverse assemblage of SARS-like viruses (Sarbecovirus) remaining relatively hidden and isolated in southeast Asia

Geographic Variation in Larval Metabolic Rate Between Northern and Southern Populations of the Invasive Gypsy Moth

Thermal regimes can diverge considerably across the geographic range of a species, and accordingly, populations can vary in their response to changing environmental conditions. Both local adaptation and acclimatization are important mechanisms for ectotherms to maintain homeostasis as environments become thermally stressful, which organisms often experience at their geographic range limits. The spatial spread of the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) after introduction to North America provides an exemplary system for studying population variation in physiological traits given the gradient of climates encompassed by its current invasive range. This study quantifies differences in resting metabolic rate (RMR) across temperature for four populations of gypsy moth, two from the northern and two from southern regions of their introduced range in North America. Gypsy moth larvae were reared at high and low thermal regimes, and then metabolic activity was monitored at four temperatures using stop-flow respirometry to test for an acclimation response. For all populations, there was a significant increase in RMR as respirometry test temperature increased. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find evidence for metabolic adaptation to colder environments based on our comparisons between northern and southern populations. We also found no evidence for an acclimation response of RMR to rearing temperature for three of the four pairwise comparisons examined. Understanding the thermal sensitivity of metabolic rate in gypsy moth, and understanding the potential for changes in physiology at range extremes, is critical for estimating continued spatial spread of this invasive species both under current and potential future climatic constraints

Climate-Related Geographical Variation in Performance Traits across the Invasion Front of a Widespread Non-Native Insect

Aim Invasive species are ideal systems for testing geographical differences in performance traits and measuring evolutionary responses as a species spreads across divergent climates and habitats. The European gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), is a generalist forest defoliator introduced to Medford, Massachusetts, USA in 1869. The invasion front extends from Minnesota to North Carolina and the ability of this species to adapt to local climate may contribute to its continuing spread. We evaluated the performance of populations along the climatic gradient of the invasion front to test for a relationship between climate and ecologically important performance traits. Location Eastern United States of America Taxon Lymantria dispar dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) Methods Insects from 14 populations across the US invasion front and interior of the invasive range were reared from hatch to adult emergence in six constant temperature treatments. The responses of survival, pupal mass and larval development time were analysed as a function of source climate (annual mean normal temperature), rearing temperature and their interaction using multiple polynomial regression. Results With the exception of female development time, there were no significant interactions between source climate and rearing temperature, indicating little divergence in the shape of thermal reaction norms among populations. Source population and rearing temperature were significant predictors of survival and pupal mass. Independent of rearing temperature, populations from warmer climates had lower survival than those from colder climates, but attained larger body size despite similar development times. Larval development time was dependent on rearing temperature, but there were not consistent relationships with source climate. Main Conclusions Thermal adaptation can be an important factor shaping the spread of invasive species, particularly in the context of climate change. Our results suggest that L. d. dispar is highly plastic, but has undergone climate-related adaptation in thermal performance and life-history traits as it spread across North America

Knowing the Biosphere: Documentation, Specimens, Archives, and Names Reveal Environmental Change and Emerging Pathogens

One Health programs and trajectories are now the apparent standard for exploring the occurrence and distribution of emerging pathogens and disease. By definition, One Health has been characterized as a broadly inclusive, collaborative, and transdisciplinary approach with connectivity across local to global scales, which integrates the medical and veterinary community to recognize health outcomes emerging at the environmental nexus for people, animals, plants, and their shared landscapes. One Health has been an incomplete model, conceptually and operationally, focused on reactive and response-based foundations, to limit the impact of emerging pathogens and emerging infectious diseases and, as such, lacks a powerful proactive capacity. A proactive, predictive One Health is necessary, emanating in part from geographically/taxonomically broad and temporally deep biological collections of pathogen-host assemblages. The DAMA protocol (Document, Assess, Monitor, Act), the operational extension of the Stockholm paradigm (SP), accomplishes this task by encompassing holistic and strategic biological sampling of reservoir host assemblages and pathogens at environmental interfaces and more extensively through resurveys, with development of informatics resources digitally linked to physical specimens held in publicly accessible museum biorepositories. Archives of specimens are the foundations for accumulating interrelated archives of information (the baselines against which change can be identified and tracked), with collections serving as fundamental resources for biodiversity informatics under the conceptual evolutionary and ecological umbrella of the SP. A cultural and conceptual transformation is essential among the diverse practitioners in the One Health community, one that recognizes the necessity of placing pathogens in an evolutionary, ecological, and environmental context by integrating specimens and associated informatics into an infrastructure and networks for actionable information. As a community, it is essential to abandon response-based business as usual while looking forward toward proactive transboundary approaches that maximize our conceptual and taxonomic view of diversity across interconnected planetary scales that influence the complexity of pathogen-host interfaces. Evolution, where the past always influences the present and the future, defines our trajectory, as the need for sustained archives that describe the biosphere becomes more acute with each passing day

Highly specific memory B cells generation after the 2nd dose of BNT162b2 vaccine compensate for the decline of serum antibodies and absence of mucosal IgA

Specific memory B cells and antibodies are a reliable read-out of vaccine efficacy. We analysed these biomarkers after one and two doses of BNT162b2 vaccine. The second dose significantly increases the level of highly specific memory B cells and antibodies. Two months after the second dose, specific antibody levels decline, but highly specific memory B cells continue to increase, thus predicting a sustained protection from COVID-19. We show that although mucosal IgA is not induced by the vaccination, memory B cells migrate in response to inflammation and secrete IgA at mucosal sites. We show that the first vaccine dose may lead to an insufficient number of highly specific memory B cells and low concentration of serum antibodies, thus leaving vaccinees without the immune robustness needed to ensure viral elimination and herd immunity. We also clarify that the reduction of serum antibodies does not diminish the force and duration of the immune protection induced by vaccination. The vaccine does not induce sterilizing immunity. Infection after vaccination may be caused by the lack of local preventive immunity because of the absence of mucosal IgA