A5032228539- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Zoonotic diseases and public health
- Amphibian and Reptile Biology
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Helminth infection and control
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Parasites and Host Interactions
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
- Rabies epidemiology and control
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models
- Virology and Viral Diseases
- Fish Biology and Ecology Studies
- Malaria Research and Control
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
National Wildlife Health Center
2023-2024
United States Geological Survey
2023-2024
University of Colorado Boulder
2017-2023
Debates over the relationship between biodiversity and disease dynamics underscore need for a more mechanistic understanding of how changes in host community composition influence parasite transmission. Focusing on interactions larval amphibians trematode parasites, we experimentally contrasted effects richness species to identify individual joint contributions both parameters infection levels three species. By combining experimental approaches with field surveys from 147 ponds, further...
Classical research on animal toxicity has focused the role of toxins in protection against predators, but recent studies suggest these same compounds can offer a powerful defense parasites and infectious diseases. Newts genus Taricha are brightly coloured contain potent neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX), which is hypothesized to have evolved as vertebrate predators such garter snakes. However, newt populations often vary dramatically toxicity, only partially explained by predation pressure. The...
A key challenge surrounding ongoing climate shifts is to identify how they alter species interactions, including those between hosts and parasites. Because transmission often occurs during critical time windows, in the phenology of either taxa can likelihood interaction or resulting pathology. We quantified phenological synchrony vulnerable stages an amphibian host ( Pseudacris regilla ) infection by a pathogenic trematode Ribeiroia ondatrae determined prevalence, parasite load By tracking...
Abstract Community composition is driven by a few key assembly processes: ecological selection, drift and dispersal. Nested parasite communities represent powerful study system for understanding the relative importance of these processes their relationship with biological scale. Quantifying β ‐diversity across scales over time additionally offers mechanistic insights into shaping distributions parasites therefore infectious disease. To examine factors driving community composition, we...
Freshwater environments are threatened by nonnative species introductions, often involving fishes. Parasites and pathogens introduced with fishes have the potential to infect native taxa should be investigated. We examined 726 representing 6 invasive from 27 ponds in California evaluate how parasite richness, infection prevalence, abundance varied host body size, species, pond identity, environmental variables. identified 14 parasitic based on morphological molecular techniques. Overall, 60%...
Digenetic trematodes of the genus Clinostomum are cosmopolitan parasites infecting fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and snails as intermediate hosts. Despite broad geographical distribution this genus, debate about number species how they vary in host use has persisted. To better understand patterns infection among across life stages, we used large-scale field surveys molecular tools to examine five amphibians seven fishes from 125 California ponds. Among 12,360 examined hosts, was rare, with...
The increasing frequency and severity of drought may exacerbate ongoing global amphibian declines. However, interactions between coincident stressors, coupled with high interannual variability in abundances, can mask the extent underlying mechanisms impacts. We synthesized a decade (2009–2019) regional-scale monitoring data (2273 surveys, 233 ponds, seven species) from across California's Bay Area used dynamic occupancy modeling to estimate trends drivers species occupancy. An extreme during...
A fundamental goal of disease ecology is to determine the landscape and environmental processes that drive dynamics at different biological levels guide management conservation. Although ranaviruses (family Iridoviridae) are emerging amphibian pathogens, few studies have conducted comprehensive field surveys assess potential drivers ranavirus dynamics.We examined factors underlying patterns in site-level presence individual-level infection 76 ponds 1,088 individuals representing 5 species...
The importance of parasites as both members biological communities and structuring agents host has been increasingly emphasized. Yet aquatic macroinvertebrates the environmental factors regulating their richness abundance remain poorly studied. Here we quantified parasite within 12 genera odonate naiads opportunistically sampled four additional orders from 35 freshwater ponds in San Francisco Bay Area California, USA. We also tested relative contributions host- habitat-level driving patterns...
Classical theory suggests that parasites will exhibit higher fitness in sympatric relative to allopatric host populations (local adaptation). However, evidence for local adaptation natural host-parasite systems is often equivocal, emphasizing the need infection experiments conducted over realistic geographic scales and comparisons among species with varied life history traits. Here, we used test how two trematode (flatworm) (Paralechriorchis syntomentera Ribeiroia ondatrae) differing...
Predation on parasites is a common interaction with multiple, concurrent outcomes. Free-living stages of can comprise large portion some predators' diets and may be important resources for population growth. also reduce the density infectious agents in an ecosystem, resultant decreases infection rates. While predator-parasite interactions likely vary parasite transmission strategy, few studies have examined how variation mode influences contact rates predators associated changes consumption...
Abstract Identifying ecological niche filters that shape species community composition is a critical first step in understanding the relative contributions of deterministic and stochastic processes structuring communities. Systems with harsh often have more basis to structure. Although these are treated as static, investigations into their stability through time rare, particularly combination extreme forms environmental change such drought. We examined richness aquatic macroinvertebrate...
Abstract Climate‐induced shifts in mosquito phenology and population structure have important implications for the health of humans wildlife. The timing intensity interactions with infected susceptible hosts are a primary determinant vector‐borne disease dynamics. Like most ectotherms, rates development corresponding phenological patterns expected to change under shifting climates. However, developing accurate forecasts climate that can be used inform management programs remains challenging...
Over the past century, native amphibian species in California, USA, have declined geographic range and population size, including precipitous declines of California Red-legged Frog Rana draytonii Baird Girard, 1852 Tiger Salamander Ambystoma californiense Gray, 1853. Habitat loss, infectious disease (e.g., chytridiomycosis), introduction invasive are potential contributors to this decline, but it is unclear how these variables interact with extreme weather events, such as prolonged drought...
Climate-induced shifts in mosquito phenology and population structure has important implications for the health of humans wildlife. The timing intensity interactions with infected susceptible hosts is a primary determinant vector-borne disease. Like most ectotherms, rates development are expected to change under warming climates. However, developing accurate predictions climate that can be used inform management programs remains challenging despite an abundance available data from long-term...
Abstract Despite the importance of virulence in epidemiological theory, relative contributions host and parasite to outcomes remain poorly understood. Here, we use reciprocal cross experiments disentangle influence on core components—infection pathology—and understand dramatic differences parasite‐induced malformations California amphibians. Surveys across 319 populations revealed that amphibians' malformation risk was 2.7× greater low‐elevation ponds, even while controlling for trematode...