@article{f2cd833588344f3a9fc5ed0571a2a0e1,
title = "Disease-mediated bottom-up regulation: An emergent virus affects a keystone prey, and alters the dynamics of trophic webs",
abstract = "Emergent diseases may alter the structure and functioning of ecosystems by creating new biotic interactions and modifying existing ones, producing cascading processes along trophic webs. Recently, a new variant of the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV2 or RHDVb) arguably caused widespread declines in a keystone prey in Mediterranean ecosystems - the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). We quantitatively assess the impact of RHDV2 on natural rabbit populations and in two endangered apex predator populations: the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and the Spanish Imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti). We found 60-70\% declines in rabbit populations, followed by decreases of 65.7\% in Iberian lynx and 45.5\% in Spanish Imperial eagle fecundities. A revision of the web of trophic interactions among rabbits and their dependent predators suggests that RHDV2 acts as a keystone species, and may steer Mediterranean ecosystems to management-dependent alternative states, dominated by simplified mesopredator communities. This model system stresses the importance of diseases as functional players in the dynamics of trophic webs.",
author = "Pedro Monterroso and Germ{\'a}n Garrote and Ana Serronha and Em{\'i}dio Santos and Miguel Delibes-Mateos and Joana Abrantes and \{De Ayala\}, \{Ram{\'o}n Perez\} and Fernando Silvestre and Jo{\~a}o Carvalho and In{\^e}s Vasco and Lopes, \{Ana M.\} and Elisa Maio and Magalh{\~a}es, \{Maria J.\} and Mills, \{L. Scott\} and Esteves, \{Pedro J.\} and Sim{\'o}n, \{Miguel Ngel\} and Alves, \{Paulo C.\}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2016.",
year = "2016",
month = oct,
day = "31",
doi = "10.1038/srep36072",
language = "English",
volume = "6",
journal = "Scientific Reports",
issn = "2045-2322",
publisher = "Nature Research",
}