Pathogen pollution in critically endangered vultures in The Gambia, West Africa

冈比亚有七种秃鹫，其中六种濒临灭绝：四种极度濒危，两种濒危。作为食腐动物，秃鹫通过吞噬腐肉和身体来提供关键的生态服务，从而循环营养并从环境中消除潜在的有害病原体。这可能会减少疾病的传播，影响到当地的食物网，并对人类健康和经济产生连锁反应。该项目的重点物种--极度濒危的白头鹫(Necrosyrtes Monachus)在冈比亚保持着强大的种群数量，尽管欧洲大陆正在下降。这些鸟与该国的人类共生，生活在定居点及其周围。在这个共享的空间里，人类和秃鹫很可能都会接触到一套相似的病原体，包括来自牲畜和其他共享食物来源的病原体。尽管有强大的免疫系统，秃鹫仍然容易患上养护和公共卫生方面的疾病，如禽流感。秃鹫也被发现携带有抗菌素耐药性的细菌病原体。了解白头鹰和其他秃鹫物种的病原体群落生态，不仅可以指导保护受威胁的关键物种的努力，还可以为新出现的人畜共患病、对牲畜健康的威胁提供哨兵，并为AMR提供生物指标。“同一个健康”方法强调人类、动物和环境健康之间的相互联系，使用跨部门合作和综合方法来应对这些领域中每一个领域的全球威胁。全球秃鹫数量的减少，以及秃鹫数量减少的潜在后果，说明有必要对人畜共患疾病问题采取“一个健康”的办法。冈比亚秃鹫已经成为跨学科研究的对象，包括种群监测、遗传和寄生虫多样性研究。该项目旨在扩大这一范围，包括病原体群落生态学，探索影响冈比亚秃鹫健康和保护状况的病原体威胁，以及这些鸟类在人类健康挑战中所起的作用。该项目的跨学科性质使其适合于许多探索路线--在早期阶段，这是一份非详尽的重点领域清单：1.冈比亚白头鹰和其他秃鹫物种的病原体群落生态2。环境中潜在的病原体污染源。人畜共患病和人畜共患病在秃鹫和人类之间传播的风险。通过提供生态系统服务，秃鹫在人类、家畜和野生动物以及环境健康中发挥的作用5。致病威胁和环境致病污染对白头鹫种群的影响，如有必要，确定有助于保护工作的缓解战略。冈比亚秃鹫的当地知识、看法和社会文化价值作为OneZoo中心博士培训的一部分，并由UKRI通过三个研究理事会-BBSRC、MRC和NERC提供支持，该项目与这些机构的关键战略挑战领域保持一致：“综合了解健康的生物科学”；“全球健康”和“感染和免疫”研究；以及“生态学、生物多样性和系统学”。该项目成功所需的技能与UKRI的优先事项保持一致，并将来自不同的学科。这些技能包括：生态技能--实地工作，包括生物和环境样本的收集和种群监测--分子生物学技能--聚合酶链式反应、DNA测序、血清学分析等，用于鉴定和量化病原体物种，以及探索秃鹫种群的遗传多样性和结构--社会科学技能--探索社会文化视角--统计和数据科学技能，包括生物信息学关键词：一个健康、秃鹫、生态系统服务、人畜共患病、病原体污染、保护

The Gambia is home to seven vulture species, of which six are under threat of extinction: four critically endangered and two endangered. As scavengers, vultures provide crucial ecological services through devouring carrion and carcasses, thereby cycling nutrients and eliminating potentially harmful pathogens from the environment. This may mitigate spread of diseases, with impacts across local food webs and knock-on effects to human health and economies.Critically endangered hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus), the focal species of the project, maintain a strong population in the Gambia despite continental decline. These birds are commensal with humans in the country, living in and around settlements. In this shared space, it is likely both humans and vultures are exposed to a similar suite of pathogens, including from livestock and other shared food sources. Despite strong immune systems, vultures are still susceptible to diseases of conservation and public health concern, such as avian influenza. Vultures have also been found to carry antimicrobial resistant bacterial pathogens. Understanding pathogen community ecology in hooded vultures and other vulture species, could not only guide efforts for the conservation of threatened keystone species, but sentinel for emerging zoonoses, threats to livestock health and provide a bioindicator for AMR. The 'One Health' approach emphasises interconnectivity between human, animal and environmental health, using cross-sectoral collaboration and integrated methods to combat global threats to each of these areas. Global vulture decline, and potential consequences of their loss, exemplifies the need for a One Health approach to zoonotic disease issues. Gambian vultures are already the subject of transdisciplinary research, including population monitoring, genetic, and parasite diversity studies. This project aims to expand this remit to include pathogen community ecology, exploring pathogenic threats affecting the health and conservation status of Gambian vultures, as well as the role these birds play in human health challenges.The transdisciplinary nature of the project lends itself to many routes of exploration - at this early stage, this is a non-exhaustive list of focus areas:1. Pathogen community ecology of hooded vultures and other vulture species in the Gambia2. Potential sources of pathogen pollution in the environment.3. Risk of zoonotic and reverse zoonotic disease transmission between vultures and humans.4. The role that vultures play in human, domestic and wild animal, and environmental health, through ecosystem service provision5. The impact of pathogenic threats and environmental pathogenic pollution on hooded vulture populations, and if needed identification of mitigation strategies to aid conservation efforts.6. Local knowledge, perceptions, and sociocultural value of vultures in the GambiaPart of the OneZoo Centre for Doctoral training, and supported by UKRI through three research councils - BBSRC, MRC, NERC, this project aligns with these bodies' key strategic challenge areas: "bioscience for an integrated understanding of health"; "global health" and "infections and immunity" research; and "ecology, biodiversity and systematics", respectively.Skills necessary for this project to succeed align with UKRI priorities and will come from a variety of disciplines. These include:- Ecological skills - field work, including collection of biological and environmental samples and population monitoring- Molecular biology skills - PCR, DNA sequencing, serological analysis etc, for the identification and quantification of pathogen species, as well as exploration of genetic diversity and structure in vulture populations- Social science skills - exploration of sociocultural perspectives- Statistical and data science skills, including bioinformaticsKeywords: one health, vultures, ecosystem services, zoonoses, pathogen pollution, conservation