A5014770974- Bacillus and Francisella bacterial research
- Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research
- Zoonotic diseases and public health
- Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Microbial infections and disease research
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Helminth infection and control
- Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- COVID-19 epidemiological studies
- Microbial Inactivation Methods
- Identification and Quantification in Food
- Vector-Borne Animal Diseases
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Coccidia and coccidiosis research
- Genetically Modified Organisms Research
- Bat Biology and Ecology Studies
- Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
University of Wisconsin–Madison
2019-2025
United States Geological Survey
2021-2025
University at Albany, State University of New York
2016-2021
Albany State University
2016-2021
Augusta University
2015-2019
University of Nottingham
2019
Advisory Board Company (United States)
2019
New York University
2017
University of Oslo
2013-2016
University of California, Berkeley
2008-2015
Epidemiological studies typically focus on single-parasite systems, although most hosts harbor multiple parasite species; thus, the potential impacts of co-infection disease dynamics are only beginning to be recognized. Interactions between macroparasites, such as gastrointestinal nematodes, and microparasites causing diseases like TB, AIDS, malaria particularly interesting because may favor transmission progression these important diseases. Here we present evidence for strong interactions...
Advances in GPS technology have created both opportunities ecology as well a need for analytical tools that can deal with the growing volume of data and ancillary variables associated each location.We present T-LoCoH, home range construction algorithm incorporates time into aggregation local kernels. Time is integrated Euclidean space using an adaptive scaling individual's characteristic velocity, enabling utilization distributions capture temporal partitions contours differentiate internal...
Parasites can shape the foraging behaviour of their hosts through cues indicating risk infection. When for co-occur with desired traits such as forage quality, individuals face a trade-off between nutrient acquisition and parasite exposure. We evaluated how this may influence disease transmission in 3-year experimental study anthrax guild mammalian herbivores Etosha National Park, Namibia. At plains zebra (Equus quagga) carcass sites we assessed (i) effects on soils grasses, (ii)...
Anthropogenically driven environmental change has imposed substantial threats on biodiversity, including the emergence of infectious diseases that have resulted in declines wildlife globally. In response to pathogen invasion, maintaining diversity within host populations across heterogenous environments is essential facilitating species persistence. White-nose syndrome an emerging fungal caused mass mortalities hibernating bats North America. However, northeast, peripheral island endangered...
Anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis , is a seasonally occurring infectious disease affecting primarily herbivorous wildlife and livestock. The seasonality of anthrax outbreaks varies among locations, making it difficult to develop single consistent ecological description this disease. Over 44 years mortality surveillance, most cases in Etosha National Park, Namibia are observed wet season, although elephants have an peak dry season. Focusing on three host species (plains...
The recent development of genetic markers for Bacillus anthracis has made it possible to monitor the spread and distribution this pathogen during between anthrax outbreaks. In Namibia, outbreaks occur annually in Etosha National Park (ENP) on private game livestock farms. We genotyped 384 B. isolates collected 1983–2010 identify epidemiological correlations within outside ENP analyze relationships from domestic wild animals. came 20 animal species environment were using a 31-marker...
Abstract To mitigate the effects of zoonotic diseases on human and animal populations, it is critical to understand what factors alter transmission dynamics. Here we assess risk exposure lethal concentrations anthrax bacterium, Bacillus anthracis , for grazing animals in a natural system over time through different mechanisms. We follow pathogen at carcass sites waterholes five years estimate infection as function grass, soil or water intake, age sites, required infection. Grazing, not...
Sex hormones, reproductive status, and pathogen load all affect stress. Together with stress, these factors can modulate the immune system disease incidence. Thus, it is important to concurrently measure factors, along their seasonal fluctuations, better understand complex interactions. Using steroid hormone metabolites from fecal samples, we examined correlations among zebra springbok reproduction, gastrointestinal (GI) parasite infections, anthrax infection signatures in Etosha National...
Proclaimed in 1907, Etosha National Park northern Namibia is an iconic dryland system with a rich history of wildlife conservation and research. A recent research symposium on the Greater Landscape (GEL) highlighted increased concern how intensification global change will affect based participant responses to questionnaire. The GEL includes surrounding areas, latter divided by veterinary fence into large, private farms south communal areas residential farming land north. Here, we leverage...
Host-parasite dynamics can be strongly affected by seasonality and age-related host immune responses. We investigated how observed variation in the prevalence intensity of parasite egg or oocyst shedding four co-occurring ungulate species may reflect underlying seasonal transmission immunity. This study was conducted July 2005-October 2006 Etosha National Park, Namibia, using indices parasitism recorded from 1,022 fecal samples collected plains zebra (Equus quagga), springbok (Antidorcas...
Summary Few studies have examined host‐pathogen interactions in wildlife from an immunological perspective, particularly the context of seasonal and longitudinal dynamics. In addition, though most ecological immunology employ serological antibody assays, endpoint titre determination is usually based on subjective criteria needs to be made more objective. Despite fact that anthrax ancient emerging zoonotic infectious disease found world‐wide, its natural ecology not well understood....
Abstract The outbreak and transmission of disease-causing pathogens are contributing to the unprecedented rate biodiversity decline. Recent advances in genomics have coalesced into powerful tools monitor, detect, reconstruct role impacting wildlife populations. Wildlife researchers thus uniquely positioned merge ecological evolutionary studies with genomic technologies exploit “Big Data” disease research; however, many lack training expertise required use these computationally intensive...
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly contagious, fatal neurodegenerative caused by infectious prions (PrP
The use of camera traps is now widespread and their importance in wildlife studies well understood. Camera trap can produce millions photographs there a need for software to help manage efficiently. In this paper, we describe system that was built successfully large behavioral study produced more than million photographs. We the architecture design decisions shaped evolution program over study's three year period. has ability automatically extract metadata from images, add customized images...
Environmental reservoirs are essential in the maintenance and transmission of anthrax but poorly characterized. The agent, Bacillus anthracis was long considered an obligate pathogen that is dormant passively transmitted environment. However, a growing number laboratory studies indicate that, like some its close relatives, B. has activity outside vertebrate hosts. Here we show field significant interactions with grass could promote spore to grazing Using local, virulent strain anthracis,...
Summary 1. Seasonality of rainfall can exert a strong influence on animal condition and host–parasite interactions. The body ruminants fluctuates seasonally in response to changes energy requirements, foraging patterns resource availability, seasonal variation parasite infections may further alter ruminant condition. 2. This study disentangles the effects gastrointestinal springbok ( Antidorcas marsupialis ) determines how these factors vary among demographic groups. 3. Using data from four...
Abstract Environmental factors are common forces driving infectious disease dynamics. We compared interannual and seasonal patterns of anthrax infections in two multihost systems southern Africa: Etosha National Park, Namibia, Kruger South Africa. Using several decades mortality data from each system, we assessed possible transmission mechanisms behind dynamics, examining (1) within‐ between‐species temporal case correlations (2) associations between mortalities environmental factors,...
An important part of infectious disease management is predicting factors that influence outbreaks, such as R , the number secondary infections arising from an infected individual. Estimating particularly challenging for environmentally transmitted pathogens given time lags between cases and subsequent infections. Here, we calculated Bacillus anthracis anthrax carcass sites in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Combining host behavioural data, pathogen concentrations simulation models, show...
Pathogen evasion of the host immune system is a key force driving extreme polymorphism in genes major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Although this gene family well characterized structure and function, there still much debate surrounding mechanisms by which MHC diversity selectively maintained. Many studies have investigated relationships between variation specific pathogens, found mixed support for against hypotheses heterozygote advantage, frequency-dependent or fluctuating selection....
Most vertebrates experience coinfections, and many pathogen-pathogen interactions occur indirectly through the host immune system. These are particularly strong in mixed micro-macroparasite infections because of immunomodulatory effects helminth parasites. While these trade-offs have been examined extensively laboratory animals, few studies them natural systems. Additionally, wildlife pathogens fluctuate seasonally, at least partly due to seasonal changes. We therefore seasonality resource...
With emerging infectious disease outbreaks in human, domestic and wild animal populations on the rise, improvements pathogen characterization surveillance are paramount for protection of human health, as well conservation ecologically economically important wildlife. Genomics offers a range suitable tools to meet these goals, with metagenomic sequencing facilitating whole microbial communities associated endemic outbreaks. Here, we use case-control study identify microbes lung tissue newly...