Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40809833›Full record

ReviewEcology and evolution2025

Reappraisal of the Dilution and Amplification Effect Framework: A Case Study in Lyme Disease.

Shirley Chen, S Eryn McFarlane

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Ecology and evolution, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Shirley ChenDepartment of Biology York University Toronto Canada.
S Eryn McFarlaneDepartment of Biology York University Toronto Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0706-458X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The role of biodiversity in regulating zoonotic disease in ecological communities has been broadly referred to as the biodiversity-disease relationship in disease ecology. Whether biodiversity decreases or increases disease risk, known as a dilution or amplification effect respectively, remains unclear. The literature has focused on the strength, generality, nature, and context dependencies that could explain contradictory evidence. We suggest that a continued focus on this approach to resolving the biodiversity-disease debate detracts from a more foundational problem with testing these dilution and amplification hypotheses, in that these hypotheses are not falsifiable as proposed. When tested and interpreted as net effects in a system, these hypotheses do not possess a true null outcome; they are vulnerable to

Indexed as

amplification effectbiodiversity–diseasedilution effectdisease ecologyhypothesis testinglatent variablesLyme diseasephilosophy of science

Identifiers

PMID40809833
PMCPMC12343334

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.