Biodiversity preservation is linked to limiting the spread of
disease in a new study unveiled Wednesday by a researcher at the
University of Colorado. Findings from the study, led by Pieter
Johnson, an assistant professor in CU's Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology, were published in the journal Nature.
The study determined that the greater the diversity of amphibian
species living in a pond, the less vulnerability frogs,
salamanders and toads living there would have against parasitic
infection that can cause deformities such as the growth of extra
legs. By extension, researchers believe their results indicate
that biodiversity in larger ecosystems could also afford greater
protection against diseases that attack people, such as West
Nile virus, Lyme disease and hantavirus. "At the heart of the
study, I think, is really trying to get a better understanding
of how preserving or maintaining biodiversity may be beneficial
to controlling wildlife disease, or even human infectious
diseases," Johnson sai