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Veterinary sciences include but exceed the study of domestic and non-domestic non-human species. The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has renewed and expanded the need of “one health” approaches –that is, the study of any biological process that involves interactions within and across species (humans included). Unintentionally but directly, COVID-19 has changed or may change everything – including veterinary sciences. For example, a field poorly developed before 2019 (bat immunology) is now, potentially, at the crossroads that connect infectious diseases affecting all vertebrates. Research associated with COVID-19 has facilitated or may promote the development and convergence of numerous technologies, theories, and methods. They include, although are not limited to (i) geographical information systems (which allow the study of actual factors found in the environment), (ii) cost-benefit oriented techniques, and (iii) data-driven (“top-down”) research designs, which identify questions and discover potential problems.

This comprehensive, groundbreaking book on the biodiversity of parasites offers a clear and accessible explanation of how parasite biodiversity provides insight into the history and biogeography of other organisms, the structure of ecosystems, and the processes that lead to the diversification of life.

This book provides a comprehensive survey of the diversity and biology of metazoan parasites affecting small mammals, of their impact on host individuals and populations, and of the management implications of these parasites for conservation biology and human welfare. Designed for a broad, multidisciplinary audience, the book is an essential resource for researchers, students, and practitioners alike.

Recent progress in the field of wildlife disease ecology demonstrates that infectious disease plays a crucial role in the lives of wild animals. Parasites and pathogens should be especially important for social animals in which high contact among individuals increases the potential for disease spread. As one of the best studied mammalian groups, primates offer a unique opportunity to examine how complex behaviours (including social organization) influence the risk of acquiring infectious diseases, and the defences used by animals to avoid infection. This book explores the correlates of disease risk in primates, including not only social and mating behaviour but also diet, habitat use, life history, geography and phylogeny. The authors examine how a core set of host and parasite traits influence patterns of parasitism at three levels of biological organization: among individuals, among populations, and across species. A major goal is to synthesize, for the first time, four disparate areas of research: primate behavioural ecology, parasite biology, wildlife epidemiology, and the behavioural and immune defences employed by animals to counter infectious disease. Throughout, the authors provide an overview of the remarkable diversity of infectious agents found in wild primate populations. Additional chapters consider how knowledge of infectious diseases in wild primates can inform efforts focused on primate conservation and human health. More generally, this book identifies infectious disease as an important frontier in our understanding of primate behaviour and ecology. It highlights future challenges for testing the links between host and parasite traits, including hypotheses for the effects of disease on primate social and mating systems.

Mammals in the genus Martes are mid-sized carnivores of great importance to forest ecosystems. This book, the successor to Martens, Sables, and Fishers: Biology and Conservation, provides a scientific basis for management and conservation efforts designed to maintain or enhance the populations and habitats of Martes species throughout the world. The twenty synthesis chapters contained in this book bring together the perspectives and expertise of 63 scientists from twelve countries, and are organized by the five key themes of evolution and biogeography, population biology and management, habitat ecology and management, research techniques, and conservation. Recent developments in research technologies such as modeling and genetics, biological knowledge about pathogens and parasites, and concerns about the potential effects of global warming on the distribution and status of Martes populations make new syntheses of these areas especially timely. The volume provides an overview of what is known while clarifying initiatives for future research and conservation priorities, and will be of interest to mammalogists, resource managers, applied ecologists, and conservation biologists.

This book provides an up-to-date review of the biology of myxozoans, which represent a divergent clade of endoparasitic cnidarians. Myxozoans are of fundamental interest in understanding how early diverging metazoans have adopted parasitic lifestyles, and are also of considerable economic and ecological concern as endoparasites of fish. Synthesizing recent research, the chapters explore issues such as myxozoan origins; evolutionary trends and diversification; development and life cycles; interactions with hosts; immunology; disease ecology; the impacts of climate change on disease; risk assessment; emerging diseases; and disease mitigation. This comprehensive work will appeal to a wide readership, from invertebrate zoologists, evolutionary biologists and developmental biologists to ecologists and parasitologists. It will also be of great practical interest to fisheries and conservation biologists. The identification of key areas for future research will appeal to scientists at all levels.

A balanced and multidisciplinary exploration of the One Health concept In One Health: Human, Animal, and Environment Triad, a team of distinguished researchers introduces and explains the concept of One Health by providing an overview of the One Health idea from the perspective of diverse disciplines, from earth and environmental science to ecology and conservation to veterinary and human medicine. The authors also present case studies demonstrating the real-world challenges and opportunities of this interdisciplinary approach to sustainable human well-being. Readers will find insightful discussions of the interactions between chemical pollutants and water, soil, and the atmosphere, as well as detailed examinations of sustainable food supply, waste management, and pathogen control, backed up by extensive reference data. One Health: Human, Animal, and Environment Triad also includes: The emergence and re-emergence of zoonoses and other infectious diseases The behavior of microplastics in soil and water Organic farming and its influence on soil health The role of light for human well-being Perfect for researchers interested in global health, ecological health, medical geology, toxicology, epidemiology, and zoonotic diseases, One Health: Human, Animal, and Environment Triad will also benefit professionals with an interest in public health and other public services, resource conservation, waste management, and the circular economy.

This new collection of articles, edited by Bryan T. Grenfell includes: Factors affecting the evolution of virulence: nematode parasites of fig wasps; Maintenance of a microparasite infecting several host species in the Seregeti; Wildlife disease and conservation in Hawaii: pathogenicity of avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) in experimentally infected Iiwi (Vestiaria coccinia).