The release of non-native gamebirds is associated with amplified zoonotic disease risk

Michels, Emile, Hansford, Kayleigh, Perkins, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7457-2699, McDonald, Robbie A, Medlock, Jolyon M and Tschirren, Barbara 2025. The release of non-native gamebirds is associated with amplified zoonotic disease risk. Ecology Letters 28 (4) , e70115. 10.1111/ele.70115

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Abstract

Spillback—where non-native species increase native pathogen prevalence—is potentially an important mechanism by which non-natives contribute to zoonotic disease emergence. However, spillback has not yet been directly demonstrated because it is difficult to disentangle from confounding factors which correlate with non-native species abundance and native pathogen prevalence. Here, we capitalise on replicated, quasi-experimental releases of non-native pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) to compare vector abundance and native pathogen prevalence between sites with similar local conditions but different non-native densities. Prevalence of Borrelia spp. (the causative agent of Lyme disease) in questing ticks was almost 2.5x higher in woods where pheasants are released compared to control woods, with a particularly strong effect on Borrelia garinii, a bird specialist genospecies. Furthermore, adult (but not nymphal) ticks tended to be more abundant at pheasant-release woods. This work provides evidence that non-native species can impact zoonotic pathogen prevalence via spillback in ecologically relevant contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Biosciences
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1461-023X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	27 March 2025
Date of Acceptance:	24 March 2025
Last Modified:	06 May 2025 15:35
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177210

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