Phys.org February 26, 2024
Free-living stages of soil-transmitted helminths are highly susceptible to climatic drivers; however, how multiple climatic variables affect helminth species, and the long-term consequences of these interactions, is poorly understood. An international team of researchers (USA – Pennsylvania State University, Italy) used experiments on nine trichostrongylid species of herbivores to develop a temperature- and humidity-dependent model of infection hazard. Intestinal and stomach helminths exhibited contrasting climatic responses, with the former group strongly affected by temperature while the latter primarily impacted by humidity. According to the specific climatic responses of the two groups, climate change is expected to generate differences in the seasonal and spatial shifts of the infection hazard and group co-circulation. In the future, an intensification of these trends could create new opportunities for species range expansion and co-occurrence at European central-northern latitudes… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Life cycle of free-living helminths (top) and climate dependencies of demographic rates (bottom)… Credit: Ecology Letters, 25 February 2024