Disease-mediated ecosystem services: Pathogens, plants, and people.

Despite the ubiquity of pathogens in ecological systems, their roles in influencing ecosystem services are often overlooked. Pathogens that infect primary producers (i.e., plants, algae, cyanobacteria) can have particularly strong effects because autotrophs are responsible for a wide range of provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. We review the roles of pathogens in mediating ecosystem services provided by autotrophs and outline scenarios in which infection may lead to unexpected outcomes in response to global change. Our synthesis highlights a deficit of information on this topic, and we outline a vision for future research that includes integrative theory and cross-system empirical studies. Ultimately, knowledge about the mediating roles of pathogens on ecosystem services should inform environmental policy and practice.

The Effect of Total Motion Release on Functional Movement Screen Composite Scores: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

CONTEXT: The Functional Movement Screen (FMS™) provides clinicians with objective criteria to assess movement patterns and overall movement quality. A relationship between low FMS™ composite scores and increased risk of injury has been reported, and researchers have begun to test the effect of interventions to improve FMS™ composite scores. Total Motion Release (TMR®), a novel active movement intervention, has been found to produce improvements in range of motion, as well as patient-reported pain and dysfunction. The effect of TMR® on movement patterns or movement quality is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of a single treatment application of TMR® on FMS™ composite scores in participants with low baselines FMS™ composite scores. DESIGN: Single-blind randomized controlled study. SETTING: Athletic training laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four participants (12 males and 12 females) with FMS™ composite scores of 13 or lower were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or control group. The FMS™ screening procedure was completed on all participants in a pretest and posttest design. INTERVENTIONS: In between FMS™ testing sessions, participants assigned to the treatment group completed the TMR® FAB 6-treatment protocol, whereas the control group participants did not receive an intervention. Following the treatment period (ie, 20 min), participants again completed the FMS™. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: FMS™ composite scores. RESULTS: The improvement in FMS™ composite scores was significantly better (P ≤ .001, Cohen's d = 1.69) in the TMR® group (mean change = 3.7 [2.2]) compared with the control group (mean change = 0.7 [1.2]). CONCLUSIONS: A single application of the TMR® FAB 6 protocol produced immediate acute improvements in FMS™ composite scores in a young, physically active population compared with no intervention. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Research evidence exists to suggest impaired or dysfunctional movement patterns or movement quality increases risk of injury. The FMS™ is commonly utilized to assess movement quality and risk of injury. This study provides initial evidence that the use of TMR® rapidly produces acute improvements in movement quality, as measured by the FMS™.

Why does Amphibian Chytrid (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) not occur everywhere? An exploratory study in Missouri ponds.

The amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is a globally emerging pathogen that has caused widespread amphibian population declines, extirpations, and extinctions. However, Bd does not occur in all apparently suitable amphibian populations, even within regions where it is widespread, and it is often unclear why Bd occurs in some habitats but not others. In this study, we rigorously surveyed the amphibian and invertebrate biodiversity of 29 ponds in Missouri, screened resident amphibian larvae (Rana (Lithobates) sp.) for Bd infection, and characterized the aquatic physiochemical environment of each pond (temperature pH, conductivity, nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a). Our goal was to generate hypotheses toward answering the question, "Why does Bd not occur in all apparently suitable habitats?" Bd occurred in assayed amphibians in 11 of the 29 ponds in our study area (38% of ponds). We found no significant relationship between any single biotic or abiotic variable and presence of Bd. However, multivariate analyses (nonmetric multidimensional scaling and permutational tests of dispersion) revealed that ponds in which Bd occurred were a restricted subset of all ponds in terms of amphibian community structure, macroinvertebrate community structure, and pond physiochemistry. In other words, Bd ponds from 6 different conservation areas were more similar to each other than would be expected based on chance. The results of a structural equation model suggest that patterns in the occurrence of Bd among ponds are primarily attributable to variation in macroinvertebrate community structure. When combined with recent results showing that Bd can infect invertebrates as well as amphibians, we suggest that additional research should focus on the role played by non-amphibian biota in determining the presence, prevalence, and pathogenicity of Bd in amphibian populations.