Response to Frey et al.’s critique of Goldberg et al. 2022 and ramifications regarding the risk of plague to an imperiled chipmunk

Abstract

We thank Frey et al. for their response to our manuscript as we think this provides an excellent opportunity for further dialogue regarding the effects of plague on wildlife populations and the difficulties in interpreting and explaining how this disease system may function under natural conditions. Herein, we will attempt to directly address some of the criticisms of Goldberg et al. 2022b. We may have been remiss in not providing sufficient detail on the history of our experimental design, which could have led to misconceptions. The criticisms helped point out such weaknesses and we are thankful for the opportunity to address them here.

Keywords

• Penasco least chipmunk
• Yersinia pestis
• New Mexico
• Wildlife disease
• Conservation
• Vaccine