Deterministic factors that influence the community ecology of
picobirnaviruses among wild rhesus macaques in human-impacted
environments
Abstract
Ecologists are increasingly interested in the deterministic factors that
influence microbial communities. Yet in comparison to other microbes,
our understanding of viral community ecology is limited. Here we
investigated the factors influencing the community ecology of
picobirnaviruses among wild rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in
Bangladesh. Using co-occurrence networks and species distribution
models, we found that macaques’ social organisation and anthropogenic
factors (human and livestock densities) had the greatest impact on
picobirnavirus communities. Virus phylogenetic relationships, host
demographics (sex, age), and host physiological stress (cortisol levels)
had less of an impact. We also found a few significant biotic
virus-virus associations that impacted community composition, more so at
lower host social organisational levels (individual macaques within
groups) compared to higher levels (macaque groups within sites). These
findings advance our understanding of the deterministic factors shaping
viral communities, and contribute to changing perceptions of viruses as
embedded components of human-natural ecosystems.