Conservation Biologists May Unintentionally Spread Pathogens

When conservationists relocate species, they don’t always account for the pathogens hitching a ride, and the consequences of introducing them to a new environment.

Written byAmanda Heidt

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Q&A, conservation biology, ecology & environment, freshwater mussel, translocation, parasite, pathogen

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ABOVE: The freshwater mussel Pseudanodonta complanata, listed as vulnerable by the IUCN
DAVID ALDRIDGE

While scientists aren’t exactly sure how many species of microbes inhabit the planet, it’s likely in the tens of millions, the vast majority of which remain entirely undescribed. As a consequence, many researchers, including conservation biologists, carry out their work in ignorance of the viruses, protozoans, and bacteria may be accompanying their target species in relocation projects.

A policy perspective published April 13 in Conservation Letters discusses the scientific rationale for moving species from one place to another, the likelihood that such efforts may also be transporting pathogens, and the factors that dictate whether these microbes become established once released into a new system.

Joshua Brian, a PhD student and community ecologist at the University of Cambridge who coauthored the perspective, researches this issue as part of his dissertation work on the parasites of freshwater mussels, which ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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