Wildlife disease

Wildlife disease is illness in free-living animals caused by infectious agents, parasites, toxins, nutritional problems, or other biological and environmental factors.

Pathogen: A biological agent that causes disease in a host. Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens can cause illness in wild animals.
Wildlife disease surveillance: The systematic collection and analysis of information about disease in wild animal populations. Surveillance detects changes in disease occurrence and helps identify emerging threats.
White-nose syndrome: A fungal disease that has caused severe declines in North American bat populations. Its spread through hibernating bat colonies illustrates devastating wildlife epidemics.
Epizootic: An outbreak of disease affecting many animals in a population or region. Epizootics can cause rapid mortality and abrupt wildlife population changes.
Emerging infectious disease: An infectious disease that is newly appearing or rapidly increasing in incidence or range. New wildlife outbreaks raise questions about changing pathogens, hosts, and environments.
Host–pathogen interaction: The biological relationship between an infectious agent and an organism it infects. Disease outcomes depend on how pathogens interact with wildlife defenses and physiology.
Wildlife disease diagnostics: Methods used to identify disease or its cause in wild animals. Diagnosis distinguishes infectious causes from toxins, injury, and other conditions.
Chytridiomycosis: An amphibian disease caused by chytrid fungi that disrupt skin function. Global amphibian declines show how an emerging pathogen can affect diverse wildlife.
Population viability analysis: A method for estimating the likelihood that a population will persist over time. Disease mortality can change extinction risk and recovery prospects.
Disease ecology: The study of how ecological processes shape disease transmission and impacts. It investigates how climate, biodiversity, and host communities influence wildlife disease.

Linked from 9 pages