Effects of environmental change on wildlife health

摘要

Environmental change has negatively affected most biological systems on our planet and is becom-ing of increasing concern for the well-being and survival of many species. At an organism level,effects encompass not only endocrine disruptions, sex-ratio changes and decreased reproductiveparameters, but also include teratogenic and genotoxic effects, immunosuppression and otherimmune-system impairments that can lead directly to disease or increase the risk of acquiring dis-ease. Living organisms will strive to maintain health by recognizing and resolving abnormalsituations, such as the presence of invading microorganisms or harmful peptides, abnormal cellreplication and deleterious mutations. However, fast-paced environmental changes may poseadditional pressure on immunocompetence and health maintenance, which may seriously impactpopulation viability and persistence. Here, we outline the importance of a functional immunesystem for survival and examine the effects that exposure to a rapidly changing environmentmight exert on immunocompetence. We then address the various levels at which anthropogenicenvironmental change might affect wildlife health and identify potential deficits in reproductive par-ameters that might arise owing to new immune challenges in the context of a rapidly changingenvironment. Throughout the paper, a series of examples and case studies are used to illustratethe impact of environmental change on wildlife health.