--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ecological disturbance causes diseases to…" description: "\"“Ecological disturbance causes diseases to emerge. Shake a tree, and things fall out. Nearly all zoonotic diseases result from infection by one of six ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/david-quammen-9256_quote_ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-t_848686.jpg" --- # Ecological disturbance causes diseases to emerge. Shake a… ![“Ecological disturbance causes diseases to emerge. Shake a tree, and things fall out. Nearly all zoonotic diseases result from infection by one of six kinds of pathogen: viruses, bacteria, fungi, protists (a group of” quote by David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/david-quammen-9256_quote_ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-t_848686.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/david-quammen-9256_quote_ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-t_848686.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/david-quammen-9256_quote_ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-t_848686.jpg) > ““Ecological disturbance causes diseases to emerge. Shake a tree, and things fall out. Nearly all zoonotic diseases result from infection by one of six kinds of pathogen: viruses, bacteria, fungi, protists (a group of”” [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human disruption of ecosystems triggers disease emergence, as pathogens spill over from disturbed habitats. **In simple terms:** Disturbing nature releases new diseases. Key Takeaway Protect ecosystems to reduce disease risk. Themes environment health interconnectedness Mood concerned urgent Type scientific educational When to use this quote - deforestation - wildlife trade - urban expansion Key Concepts epidemiology ecology One spillover Questions to Reflect On - What actions can reduce ecological disturbance? - How can societies balance development and health? A Different Perspective The statement may simplify complex disease dynamics and ignore socioeconomic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Roughly speaking, this hypothesis asks whether drug use causes some of the diseases officially associated with AIDS, such as immunodeficiency and Kaposi's sarcoma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-lang/roughly-speaking-this-hypothesis-asks-whether-drug-use-causes-some-of/) [Serge Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-lang/) > [Wine is the source of the greatest evils among communities. It causes diseases, quarrels, seditions, idleness, aversion to labor, and family disorders. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/wine-is-the-source-of-the-greatest-evils-among-communities-it-causes/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [“It is chronic water shortage in the body that causes most diseases of the human body. Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaru-emoto/it-is-chronic-water-shortage-in-the-body-that-causes-most-diseases-of/) [Masaru Emoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaru-emoto/) > [It is chronic water shortage in the body that causes most diseases of the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaru-emoto/it-is-chronic-water-shortage-in-the-body-that-causes-most-diseases-of-2/) [Masaru Emoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaru-emoto/) ## More by David Quammen > [I wrote four novels, but then I realized that the world didn't need me to be a novelist, but the world could use me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-wrote-four-novels-but-then-i-realized-that-the-world-didn-t-need-me/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I am very, very old-fashioned and clumsy. I use those long reporter notebooks. This is what a troglodyte I am. The night before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-am-very-very-old-fashioned-and-clumsy-i-use-those-long-reporter/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Most Americans know nothing about the African forest, and it seems to them a very scary, spooky dangerous place. I've spent a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/most-americans-know-nothing-about-the-african-forest-and-it-seems-to/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“Horses aren’t native to Australia. They are exotic, first brought there by European settlers barely more than two centuries ago. Hendra is probably an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/horses-aren-t-native-to-australia-they-are-exotic-first-brought-there/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Viruses have to live somewhere. They can only replicate in living creatures. So, when the Ebola virus disappears between outbreaks, it has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/viruses-have-to-live-somewhere-they-can-only-replicate-in-living/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“People and gorillas, horses and duikers and pigs, monkeys and chimps and bats and viruses: We’re all in this together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/people-and-gorillas-horses-and-duikers-and-pigs-monkeys-and-chimps/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Islands are havens and breeding grounds for the unique and anomalous. They are natural laboratories of extravagant evolutionary experimentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/islands-are-havens-and-breeding-grounds-for-the-unique-and-anomalous/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“Each outbreak, by this view, represents a local event primarily explicable by a larger cause—the arrival of the wave. The main proponent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/each-outbreak-by-this-view-represents-a-local-event-primarily/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“The Towner paper contained a very interesting statement, as an aside, concerning the five ebolaviruses: “Viruses of each species have genomes that are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/the-towner-paper-contained-a-very-interesting-statement-as-an-aside/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I used to read only fiction. Now I don't read much, only occasionally, such as a Cormac McCarthy or a Jim Harrison novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-used-to-read-only-fiction-now-i-don-t-read-much-only-occasionally/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [The swallow that hibernates underwater is a creature called yearning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/the-swallow-that-hibernates-underwater-is-a-creature-called-yearning/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“It comes and it goes. But epidemiologists have recognized that, with measles virus, as with other pathogens, there’s a critical minimum size of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/it-comes-and-it-goes-but-epidemiologists-have-recognized-that-with/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Whether you like the label 'Anthropocene' or not, whether you find the prospect of what it signifies inevitable or appalling (or both), the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/whether-you-like-the-label-anthropocene-or-not-whether-you-find-the/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Ebola isn't a respiratory virus. It doesn't spread through the airborne route. So it's not likely to spread like wildfire around the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/ebola-isn-t-a-respiratory-virus-it-doesn-t-spread-through-the/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I'm a white, middle-class male who had a happy childhood in Ohio. The world does not need me to be a novelist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-m-a-white-middle-class-male-who-had-a-happy-childhood-in-ohio-the/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) [Explore all 73 David Quammen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ecological disturbance causes diseases to emerge. Shake a tree, and things fall out. Nearly all zoonotic diseases result from infection by one of six kinds of pathogen: viruses, bacteria, fungi, protists (a group of”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Quammen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-to-emerge-shake-a-tree-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Zoonotic Diseases" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-to-emerge-shake-a-tree-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/david-quammen-9256_quote_ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-t_848686.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/david-quammen-9256_quote_ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-t_848686.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/david-quammen-9256_quote_ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-t_848686.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ecological disturbance causes diseases to emerge. Shake a tree, and things fall out. Nearly all zoonotic…” — David Quammen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Quammen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ecological disturbance causes diseases to emerge....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-to-emerge-shake-a-tree-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/ecological-disturbance-causes-diseases-to-emerge-shake-a-tree-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```