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= Disease Ecology = Disease ecology is a sub-discipline of ecology concerned with the mechanisms, patterns, and effects of host-pathogen interactions, particularly those of infectious diseases, within the context of environmental factors. Further, it examines how parasites spread through and influence populations and communities. By studying the flow of diseases within the natural environment, scientists seek to better understand how changes within our environment can shape how pathogens, and other diseases, travel. Therefore, diseases ecology seeks to understand the links between ecological interactions and disease evolution. New emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (infecting both wildlife and humans) are increasing at an alarming rate which can have lasting impacts on public health, ecosystem health, and biodiversity.

Factors Affecting Spread of Parasites in Wildlife
Parasitic infections, along with certain transmitted diseases, are present in wildlife which has important effects on particular individuals and populations, a critical issue in conservation ecology and additional efforts in the conservation of threatened species. This indicates that there may be constant host-parasite adaptations to one another or its surrounding environments.

In Relation to Climate Change
Humans are strongly impacting how diseases spread by creating what is known as "novel species associations". Globalization, mainly through world travel and trade, has created a system in which pathogens, and other species are more in contact with one another than in subsequent years. Ecological disruption, such as the building of roads and further habitat fragmentation and degradation through the destruction of natural landscape, is another primary driver of recent emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases around the world caused by human interference. Scientists have speculated that habitat destruction and biodiversity loss are some of the main drivers which are aiding in the spread of non-human vectors, that carry diseases, and pathogens. Additionally, the loss of predators and hosts that mitigate the ability for pathogen transmission can increase the rate of disease transmission. Human anthropogenic induced climate change is becoming problematic as parasites and their associated diseases can move to higher latitudes with increasing global temperatures, infecting populations that was previously never in contact with certain pathogens

Urbanization and Biodiversity Loss
Urbanization is considered one of the main land-use changes, defined as the growth in the area and number of people inhabiting cities, urbanization generates landscapes dominated by built-up structures for human use. With over 65% of the global human population living in cities by 2025, ecological impacts of urbanization focus on biodiversity loss, which is the decline in species richness from rural to urban milieus. With empirical evidence, scientists are understanding that biodiversity loss is associated with increased transmission and disease severity for humans, wildlife, and plant species. As biodiversity is lost from different

When biodiversity is lost from ecological communities, the species most likely to disappear are large-bodied species with slower life histories (e.g., ref. 65), while smaller-bodied species with fast life histories tend to increase in abundance (e.g., ref. 66). Recent research shows that fast-lived species are more likely to transmit zoonotic pathogens (61). Together, these processes are likely to lead to increases in the abundance of zoonotic reservoirs when biodiversity is lost from ecological systems

Habitat Fragmentation
Encroachment on natural ecosystems and wildlife with rapid urbanization exposes humans to a wide variety of disease carrying animals.

Notable Examples in Disease Ecology

 * 1) Malaria:
 * 2) Lyme Disease:
 * 3) West Nile Virus: