Climate and atmospheric change impacts on aphids as vectors of plant diseases

Transmission of viruses is an important component of plant losses due to aphids. Viruses, plants and aphids interact in a range of ways which affect transmission. These interactions can be modified by climatic and atmospheric variables, and the effects of changes in these may scale up to play important roles in governing community productivity and ecosystem function. This chapter demonstrates how multiple environmental variables can interact to affect plant and aphid populations and, subsequently, the spread of viruses. We highlight gaps in the literature that are necessary for predicting how viruses, aphids and their host-plants will respond in the future. Realistic predictions about the extent of damage to plants will only be obtained if more studies incorporate multiple abiotic and biotic factors simultaneously.