Table 1 Previously published evidence (from 2000 to 2020) for relationships between fire and wildlife disease. We set out to identify studies that tested links between wildfire, prescribed fire, or elements of fire exposure in wild and captive animals. Our search uncovered a selection of effects and mechanisms, including positive, negative, and neutral effects, providing some evidence for elements of our fire-disease framework. In the “effect” column, plus sign (+) denotes positive, exacerbating, or increasing relationships; minus sign (−) denotes negative, inhibitory, or decreasing relationships. Findings in parentheses denote an effect on immunity but no proven impact on disease; plus/minus sign (+/−) denotes a combination of positive and negative effects; zero (0) denotes no detected effect. For each example, we include the location, the pyrosystem (the type of fire and the vegetation involved), the animal, and the parasite involved. We also include the explanation for the observed pattern; when there was no detected effect of fire on disease, no explanation is given and the cell is left blank
From: From flames to inflammation: how wildfires affect patterns of wildlife disease
Reference pyrosystem | Hosts | Pathogen or immune metric | Effect | Suggested mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Parker-Fann 2020 | ||||
Virginia, USA, forest; prescribed burn treatment | ||||
Migrating birds, mammals through tick vector Ixodes Latreille, 1795 sp. | Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson et al. 1984 emend. Baranton et al. 1992 | 0 | ||
Pascoe et al. 2020 | ||||
California, USA, blue oak (Quercus douglasii Hook. & Arn) woodland vegetation; major fire sparked by vehicle exhaust | ||||
Rodents, small mammals through tick vectors Ixodes sp., Dermacentor C.L.Koch, 1844 sp. | Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Foggie 1949) Dumler et al. 2001 | - | Destruction of environmental parasites | |
Ecke et al. 2019 | ||||
Sweden coniferous forest; major fire after fire-suppression regime | ||||
Bank vole (Myodes glareolus) | Puumula orthohantavirus | + | Greater contact rates in refugia | |
Jones et al. 2018 | ||||
Western Australia bushland; intense ground and canopy bushfire | ||||
Woylie (Bettongia peniciallata) | Ticks and lice | 0 | ||
MacDonald et al. 2018 | ||||
Southern California, USA, oak woodland; major fire sparked by cooking site | ||||
Western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis Baird and Girard, 1852), dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes Baird, 1858), California mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus californicus Caton, 1876) | Borrelia burgdorferi | +/- | Changes in competent host composition, and environmental parasite destruction | |
Western fence lizard through tick vector Ixodes pacificus Cooley & Kohls, 1943 | Borrelia burgdorferi | 0 | ||
Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner, 1845) through tick vector Ixodes pacificus | Borrelia burgdorferi | 0 | ||
Dusky-footed woodrat through tick vector Ixodes pacificus | Borrelia burgdorferi | - | Fire significantly reduced pathogen reservoir host population | |
California mule deer through tick vector Ixodes pacificus | Borrelia burgdorferi | - | Fire reduced host activity, decreasing tick populations and negatively impacting pathogen transmission | |
Ortega 2018 | ||||
Florida, USA, wiregrass (Aristida stricta Michaux), pine (Pinus L. spp.) straw, myrtles (Myrica cerifera L.), saw palmettos (Serenoa repens [Bartram] J.K.Small); prescribed burn treatment | ||||
Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis Trueb & Tyler, 1974) | Aplectana sp. nematode | - | Burns kill larvae in the soil while also reducing recruitment to adult subpopulation | |
Cuban tree frog | Acuariid nematodes | + | Acuariid nematode abundance increases as arthropod diversity or abundance increase post-fire, facilitating predation by birds needed for the Acuariid life cycle | |
Cuban tree frog | Trematode metacercariae | + | Burns enhance freshwater productivity, and are hence beneficial to freshwater snails, that are the intermediate hosts | |
Black et al. 2017 | ||||
Northern California, USA, forests; major fires in regular fire regime | ||||
Rhesus macaque monkey (Macaca mulatta Zimmermann, 1780) | Immune regulation | (+) | Negative impact of wildfire smoke exposure in monkeys | |
Sokos et al. 2016 | ||||
Greece Aleppo pines (Pinus halepensis, Miller), broadleaf shrubs, and agricultural fields; moderate and severe fires | ||||
Brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) | European Brown Hare Syndrome virus | 0 | ||
Bowen et al. 2015 | ||||
Central California, USA, chaparral and oak woodland; major fire in regular fire regime | ||||
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) | Immune transcriptomics | (+) | Pyrogenic chemicals require changes in immune expression to detoxify | |
Fuentes et al. 2010 | ||||
Spain forests and cultivated land; major fire in regular fire regime | ||||
Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus Linnaeus, 1758) | Helminths | 0 | ||
Hossack et al. 2013b | ||||
Montana, USA, wetlands; regular fire regimes | ||||
Boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) | Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) | - | Post-fire environment non-favorable to the pathogen, may increase resistance | |
Hossack et al. 2013a | ||||
Montana, USA, wetlands; regular fire regimes | ||||
Long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum Baird, 1950) | Soil-transmitted nematode (Cosmocercoides variabili Harwood, 1930) | - | Fire decreased salamander abundance, rendered soil conditions unsuitable for the pathogen | |
Columbia spotted frog (Rana pretiosa luteiventris Thompson, 1913) | Aquatically transmitted nematode (Gyrinicola batrachiensis Walton, 1929) | + | Burn increased tadpole density | |