One Health & Wildlife Diseases

Conservation of wildlife requires undestanding of…? (5 points)

• biogeographical patterns

• community structure

• population dynamics

• individual behavior

• health issues affecting population 

what is the definition of health (according to WHO)

state of complete physical, mental & social wellbeing

how do diseases affect the wildlife population?

• any impairment that interferes with or modigy the perfomance of normal functions (e.g. envi factors such as nutrition, toxins…)

• inability to fulfill ecological role 

what are the roles of wildlife veterinarians

• in the past

• in the present

• past: management of animal populations experiencing diseases & high mortality (focusing on fixing the diseases)

• present: integration w/ other disciplines. role of diseases in the context of species loss

w

what 4 factors exacerbate impairments to wildlife health

• increasing human population

• habitat fragmentation/degradation

• isolation of wildlife populations

• increased human (domestic animals)/wildlife contact

(T/F) Species are going extinct on a logarithmic scale

True.

what are 4 indirect drivers of species exctinction

• demographic & sociocultural

• economic & technological 

• instituitions & governance

• conflicts & epidemics

which 3 wildlife health & consveration processes are impacted by ongoing global change?

• alteration in landscape & habitat

• shift in wildlife populations

• changes in disease ecology

alteration in landscape & habitat

• habitat loss, fragmentation & land degradation

• deforestation

• climate change (macro & micro)

• environmental contamination

• global toxification

• urbanization

• loss of ecosystem services

(T/F) Habitat loss is driven by the environment

False. It is driven by human.

what do island ecosystems refer to?

• the creation of proteced areas with fences & barriers

• isolation of species

what are some implications of land degradatoin

• closer contact btwn human, domestic species & wildlife

• increased disease transmission

• multi-sepcies land use

how does climate change affect wildlife

• changing the epidemiology of infectious dieases (affecting the transmission & host susceptibility)

• affecting microbiomes too

• amphibians & moths are sensitive to envi change —> sentinels

(T/F) There is an increased level of persistent toxic pollutants in the environment.

True. For example: pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial compounds…

what are the 4 services that ecosystems provide

• provisioning services (e.g. drinking water, medicinal product)

• regulating services (water purifcation, flood control, soil)

• supporting services (nutrient cycling, habitat provision)

• cultural services (recreational hunting & fishing, tourism, sports)

(T/F) Ecohealth is equal to human human wellbeing

True

what are the 3 measurable indicators of ecosystem health

• vigor

• organization

• resilience

what does vigor refer to?

• activity, metabolism and product of a system

• energy & activity of a system

how do you meansure organization of a ecosytem

• the diversity & number of interactions btwn systems components

  • degree of specialization

how do you measure resilience of a ecosystem

• robustness, buffering capacity (how well it can sustain impact)

• magnitude of dsiturbance that can be absorbed before the system changes its structure

which indicator is the vital signs of a system

organization

continue on slide 31