Abstract
Pathogens are embedded in a complex network of microparasites that can collectively or individually alter disease dynamics and outcomes. Chronic pathogens, for example, can either facilitate or compete with subsequent pathogens thereby exacerbating morbidity and mortality. Pathogen interactions are ubiquitous in nature, but poorly understood, particularly in wild populations. We report here on ten years of serological and molecular data in African lions, leveraging comprehensive demographic and behavioral data to utilize pathogen networks to test if chronic infections shape infection by acute pathogens. We combine network and community ecology approaches to assess broad network structure and characterize associations between pathogens across spatial and temporal scales. We found significant non-random structure in the lion-pathogen co-occurrence network and identified potential facilitative and competitive interactions between acute and chronic pathogens. Our results provide a novel insight for untangling the complex associations underlying pathogen co-occurrence networks.
Author Contributions
NMFJ and MEC designed the study. CP & KT provided data. NMFJ, MJ & GB conducted statistical analyses. NMFJ wrote the manuscript and all authors contributed to revisions.
Footnotes
Data Accessibility Statement
Should the manuscript be accepted, the data supporting the results will be archived on Dryad and the data DOI will be included at the end of the article.