Badgers prefer cattle pasture but avoid cattle: implications for bovine tuberculosis control
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Effective management of infectious disease relies upon understanding mechanisms of pathogen transmission. In particular, while models of disease dynamics usually assume transmission through direct contact, transmission through environmental contamination can cause different dynamics. We used Global Positioning System (GPS) collars and proximity-sensing contact-collars to explore opportunities for transmission of Mycobacterium bovis [causal agent of bovine tuberculosis] between cattle and badgers (Meles meles). Cattle pasture was badgers' most preferred habitat. Nevertheless, although collared cattle spent 2914 collar-nights in the home ranges of contact-collared badgers, and 5380 collar-nights in the home ranges of GPS-collared badgers, we detected no direct contacts between the two species. Simultaneous GPS-tracking revealed that badgers preferred land > 50 m from cattle. Very infrequent direct contact indicates that badger-to-cattle and cattle-to-badger M. bovis transmission may typically occur through contamination of the two species' shared environment. This information should help to inform tuberculosis control by guiding both modelling and farm management.
Date Issued
2016-08-04
Date Acceptance
2016-07-04
Citation
Ecology Letters, 2016, 19 (10)
ISSN
1461-0248
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Ecology Letters
Volume
19
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12654/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/licensing-open-access/open-access/self-archiving.html)
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Grant Number
MR/K010174/1B
Subjects
Meles meles
Mycobacterium bovis
Badger
cattle
disease ecology
farm ecology
pathogen
tuberculosis
wildlife disease
wildlife health
Publication Status
Published