Proesmans W., Albrecht M., Gaida A., Neumann, P., Paxton R. J., Pioz M., Polzin C., Schweiger O., Settele J., Szentgyörgyi H., Thulke H. H., Vanbergen A. J.
Pathways for novel epidemiology: Plant–Pollinator–Pathogen networks and global change.
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 36, (7), 2021, 623-636.
Multiple global change pressures, and their interplay, cause plant–pollinator
extinctions and modify species assemblages and interactions. This may alter
the risks of pathogen host shifts, intra- or interspecific pathogen spread, and
emergence of novel population or community epidemics. Flowers are hubs for
pathogen transmission. Consequently, the structure of plant–pollinator interaction
networks may be pivotal in pathogen host shifts and modulating disease
dynamics. Traits of plants, pollinators, and pathogens may also govern the interspecific
spread of pathogens. Pathogen spillover–spillback between managed
and wild pollinators risks driving the evolution of virulence and community epidemics.
Understanding this interplay between host–pathogen dynamics and
global change will be crucial to predicting impacts on pollinators and pollination
underpinning ecosystems and human wellbeing.