{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T03:50:06Z","timestamp":1790826606968,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,19]],"date-time":"2015-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1431993600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Netherlands Research Organisation"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Journal of Biogeography"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title><jats:p>The spatial structure of a population can strongly influence the dynamics of infectious diseases, yet rarely is the underlying structure quantified. A case in point is plague, an infectious zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium<jats:italic>Yersinia pestis<\/jats:italic>. Plague dynamics within the Central Asian desert plague focus have been extensively modelled in recent years, but always with strong uniformity assumptions about the distribution of its primary reservoir host, the great gerbil (<jats:italic>Rhombomys opimus<\/jats:italic>). Yet, while clustering of this species\u2019 burrows due to social or ecological processes could have potentially significant effects on model outcomes, there is currently nothing known about the spatial distribution of inhabited burrows. Here, we address this knowledge gap by describing key aspects of the spatial patterns of great gerbil burrows in Kazakhstan.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Location<\/jats:title><jats:p>Kazakhstan.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Burrows were classified as either occupied or empty in 98 squares of four different sizes: 200\u00a0m (side length), 250\u00a0m, 500\u00a0m and 590\u20131020\u00a0m. We used Ripley's<jats:italic>K<\/jats:italic>statistic to determine whether and at what scale there was clustering of occupied burrows, and semi\u2010variograms to quantify spatial patterns in occupied burrows at scales of 250\u00a0m to 9\u00a0km.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Significant spatial clustering of occupied burrows occurred in 25% and 75% of squares of 500\u00a0m and 590\u20131020\u00a0m, respectively, but not in smaller squares. In clustered squares, the clustering criterion peaked around 250\u00a0m. Semi\u2010variograms showed that burrow density was auto\u2010correlated up to a distance of 7\u00a0km and occupied density up to 2.5\u00a0km.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Main conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>These results demonstrate that there is statistically significant spatial clustering of occupied burrows and that the uniformity assumptions of previous plague models should be reconsidered to assess its significance for plague transmission. This field evidence will allow for more realistic approaches to disease ecology models for both this system and for other structured host populations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/jbi.12534","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,19]],"date-time":"2015-05-19T12:03:32Z","timestamp":1432037012000},"page":"1281-1292","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Spatial distribution patterns of plague hosts: point pattern analysis of the burrows of great gerbils in Kazakhstan"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"42","author":[{"given":"Liesbeth I.","family":"Wilschut","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Geography Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands"},{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne","family":"Laudisoit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ecology Evolution and Genomics of Infectious Disease Research Group Institute of Integrative Biology The University of Liverpool Liverpool UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nelika K.","family":"Hughes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Evolutionary Ecology Group Department of Biology University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elisabeth A.","family":"Addink","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Geography Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Steven M.","family":"de Jong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Geography Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hans A.P.","family":"Heesterbeek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jonas","family":"Reijniers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Evolutionary Ecology Group Department of Biology University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sally","family":"Eagle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ecology Evolution and Genomics of Infectious Disease Research Group Institute of Integrative Biology The University of Liverpool Liverpool UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vladimir M.","family":"Dubyanskiy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stavropol Plague Control Research Institute Stavropol Russian Federation"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mike","family":"Begon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ecology Evolution and Genomics of Infectious Disease Research Group Institute of Integrative Biology The University of Liverpool Liverpool UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_6_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TAC.1974.1100705"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.0906-7590.2007.04726.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v012.i06"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1006\/bulm.1999.0115"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_6_1","volume-title":"Principles of geographical information systems","author":"Burrough P.A.","year":"1998"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsif.2006.0185"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1095854"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S095026880600759X"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature07053"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_11_1","volume-title":"Statistical analysis of spatial point patterns","author":"Diggle P.J.","year":"2003"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_12_1","first-page":"1796","volume-title":"Encyclopedia of environmetrics","author":"Dixon P.M.","year":"2002"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0035598"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.ento.50.071803.130337"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/622936"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0169-5347(97)01174-9"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/414716a"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780198540663.001.0001","volume-title":"Metapopulation ecology","author":"Hanski I.","year":"1999"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jtbi.2011.12.009"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2010.2614"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jtbi.2011.01.032"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.1999.0716"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/35038073"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1461-0248.2002.00268.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpj.2009.05.039"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.0906-7590.2004.03694.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1461-0248.2004.00608.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_28_1","first-page":"549","volume-title":"Rodents in desert environments","author":"Naumov N.P.","year":"1975"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1890\/0012-9658(1998)079[0226:DMOSOV]2.0.CO;2"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.catena.2013.09.006"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cageo.2004.03.012"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/beheco\/ari078"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1461-0248.2012.01767.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/3212829"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0018-506X(02)00028-4"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1644\/BNS-014"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_37_1","volume-title":"splancs: Spatial and Space\u2010Time Point Pattern Analysis","author":"Rowlingson B.","year":"2013"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_38_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.epidem.2012.12.003"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.0030-1299.2004.12497.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_40_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jag.2012.11.007"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1476-072X-12-49"},{"key":"e_1_2_6_42_1","first-page":"301","article-title":"Human plague in 2002 and 2003","volume":"79","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2004","journal-title":"Weekly Epidemiological Record"}],"container-title":["Journal of Biogeography"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/api.wiley.com\/onlinelibrary\/tdm\/v1\/articles\/10.1111%2Fjbi.12534","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/api.wiley.com\/onlinelibrary\/tdm\/v1\/articles\/10.1111%2Fjbi.12534","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/jbi.12534","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,9]],"date-time":"2024-06-09T03:05:38Z","timestamp":1717902338000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/jbi.12534"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,19]]},"references-count":41,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,7]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/jbi.12534"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/jbi.12534","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0305-0270","1365-2699"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0305-0270","type":"print"},{"value":"1365-2699","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,19]]}}}