| 项目编号: | 1518611
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| 项目名称: | Consequences of Anthropogenic Resources for the Cross-Scale Dynamics of an Enteric Pathogen in an Avian Host |
| 作者: | Sonia Hernandez
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| 承担单位: | University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
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| 批准年: | 2014
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| 开始日期: | 2015-08-01
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| 结束日期: | 2020-07-31
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| 资助金额: | USD2155985
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| 资助来源: | US-NSF
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| 项目类别: | Continuing grant
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| 国家: | US
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| 语种: | 英语
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| 特色学科分类: | Biological Sciences - Environmental Biology
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| 英文关键词: | pathogen
; infection
; researcher
; individual host
; pathogen spread
; host movement
; impact
; influence pathogen susceptibility
; influence local-scale contact
; food
; gut pathogen
; white ibis
; immune defense
; interaction
; mathematical model
; host contact
; human
; global scale
; pathogen transmission
; transmission dynamics
|
| 英文摘要: | Urbanization is expanding at a global scale, with two-thirds of the world's people expected to reside in cities in the next 40 years. Urbanization causes many wildlife species to decline, but some species capitalize on new resources, especially food, provided by humans in urban and suburban habitats. Shifts in wildlife ecology in response to intentional (e.g., bird feeders) or accidental (e.g., garbage) feeding by humans can alter their exposure and susceptibility to infectious diseases. This can happen when human-provided food causes wildlife to gather at high densities and mix with species they naturally would not contact, increasing their exposure to pathogens. Supplemental feeding could also affect an animal's ability to fight infection by boosting body condition and immune defense; alternatively, human-altered diets might change the makeup of their gut bacteria and increase their, susceptibility to infection. This research project directly examines whether food provided to wildlife changes their interactions with pathogens, from the colonization of individual hosts to disease spread across the landscape, with associated disease risks for humans. The researchers will focus on interactions between the gut pathogen Salmonella and White Ibis in South Florida; these wading birds have recently shifted from feeding in natural wetlands to urban parks, where they subsist on leftover food and handouts from people. The researchers will use experiments, field observations and radio-tracking technology to investigate how urban diet influences Salmonella infection through changes in condition and immune defense of individual birds, and movement and flocking behaviors of White Ibis across different sites and habitat types. Mathematical models will be developed to forecast the spread of infection in relation to human feeding in urban parks. Through the high visibility and public appeal of urban White Ibises, the researchers will involve citizen scientist volunteers in reporting their observations, and will engage in outreach efforts to educate the public on the health-related effects of feeding wildlife. This interdisciplinary project will also provide numerous opportunities for training undergraduates, graduate students, and research professionals, including individuals from underrepresented groups.
This research represents the most comprehensive study to date of how wildlife responses to changing food resources in human-dominated habitats influence their interactions with infectious diseases. Activities integrate field studies, captive challenge experiments and mathematical modeling to address three questions: (i) How does provisioning influence pathogen susceptibility, shedding, and impacts on individual hosts? (ii) How does provisioning influence local-scale contacts and transmission dynamics? and (iii) How does provisioning alter host movements, pathogen transmission and impacts at the landscape level? The first question will be answered by quantifying individual-level diet, immune defense, pathogen shedding and indicators of condition/health in urban and natural habitats. The researchers will further test whether gastrointestinal microbiota depend on diet and habitat type through work with wild and captive birds. The second question will be addressed through measures of host contact, including flock size and species composition in urban and natural habitats, and by measuring the prevalence and genotypes of Salmonella. The third question will be addressed by using geospatial tracking technology and citizen science reporting to characterize the movements of ibises, and identify ecological correlates of habitat use and infection metrics. Field and experimental work will directly inform a mathematical model that links diet to pathogen spread, to predict changes in infection prevalence and impacts. This modeling framework can be applied more broadly to understand how other wildlife species and their pathogens might respond to future urbanization and associated shifts in food resources. |
| 资源类型: | 项目
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| 标识符: | http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/93817
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| Appears in Collections: | 影响、适应和脆弱性
气候减缓与适应
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| Recommended Citation: | |
Sonia Hernandez. Consequences of Anthropogenic Resources for the Cross-Scale Dynamics of an Enteric Pathogen in an Avian Host. 2014-01-01.
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