Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorWilson, Anthony James
dc.contributor.authorMorgan, Eric Rene
dc.contributor.authorBooth, Mark
dc.contributor.authorNorman, Rachel
dc.contributor.authorPerkins, Sarah Elizabeth
dc.contributor.authorHauffe, Heidi Christine
dc.contributor.authorMideo, Nicole
dc.contributor.authorAntonovics, Janis
dc.contributor.authorMcCallum, Hamish
dc.contributor.authorFenton, Andy
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-27T01:56:13Z
dc.date.available2017-07-27T01:56:13Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.identifier.issn0962-8436
dc.identifier.doi10.1098/rstb.2016.0085
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/342632
dc.description.abstractMany important and rapidly emerging pathogens of humans, livestock and wildlife are ‘vector-borne’. However, the term ‘vector’ has been applied to diverse agents in a broad range of epidemiological systems. In this perspective, we briefly review some common definitions, identify the strengths and weaknesses of each and consider the functional differences between vectors and other hosts from a range of ecological, evolutionary and public health perspectives. We then consider how the use of designations can afford insights into our understanding of epidemiological and evolutionary processes that are not otherwise apparent. We conclude that from a medical and veterinary perspective, a combination of the ‘haematophagous arthropod’ and ‘mobility’ definitions is most useful because it offers important insights into contact structure and control and emphasizes the opportunities for pathogen shifts among taxonomically similar species with similar feeding modes and internal environments. From a population dynamics and evolutionary perspective, we suggest that a combination of the ‘micropredator’ and ‘sequential’ definition is most appropriate because it captures the key aspects of transmission biology and fitness consequences for the pathogen and vector itself. However, we explicitly recognize that the value of a definition always depends on the research question under study. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Opening the black box: re-examining the ecology and evolution of parasite transmission’.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherThe Royal Society Publishing
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom20160085-1
dc.relation.ispartofpageto20160085-11
dc.relation.ispartofissue1719
dc.relation.ispartofjournalPhilosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B
dc.relation.ispartofvolume372
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiological sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchOther biological sciences not elsewhere classified
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiomedical and clinical sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode31
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode319999
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode32
dc.titleWhat is a vector?
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
dcterms.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.description.versionVersion of Record (VoR)
gro.rights.copyright© 2017 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorMcCallum, Hamish


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

  • Journal articles
    Contains articles published by Griffith authors in scholarly journals.

Show simple item record