Two key knowledge gaps currently limit the development of more predictive and general models of pathogen transmission: (1) the physiological basis of heterogeneity in host contribution to pathogen transmission (reservoir potential) remains poorly understood and (2) a general means of integrating the ecological dynamics of host communities has yet to emerge. If the traits responsible for differences in reservoir potential also modulate host community dynamics, these traits could be used to predict pathogen transmission as host communities change. In two greenhouse experiments, across 23 host species and two levels of resource supply, the reservoir potential of plant hosts increased significantly along the Leaf Economics Spectrum, a global axis of plant physiological trait covariation that features prominently in models of plant community ecology. This indicates that the traits of the Leaf Economics Spectrum underlie broad differences in reservoir potential across host species and resource supplies. Therefore, host traits could be used to integrate epidemiological models of pathogen transmission with ecological models of host community change.

中文翻译：

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宿主对跨物种和资源供应的病原体传播的贡献的基于特征的变化

目前两个关键的知识差距限制了病原体传播更具预测性和通用性模型的发展：（1）宿主对病原体传播（水库潜力）贡献的异质性的生理基础仍然知之甚少；（2）整合生态学的一般方法东道社区的动态尚未出现。如果负责水库潜力差异的特征也调节宿主群落动态，那么这些特征可用于预测病原体传播，因为宿主社区发生变化。在两个温室实验中，跨越 23 种寄主物种和两个资源供应水平，植物寄主的水库潜力沿着叶经济学谱显着增加，叶经济学谱是植物生理性状共变的全球轴，在植物群落生态学模型中占有突出地位。这表明叶经济学谱的特征是宿主物种和资源供应之间水库潜力存在巨大差异的基础。因此，宿主特征可用于将病原体传播的流行病学模型与宿主群落变化的生态模型相结合。