U.S.-France Cooperative Research: Mathematical Modeling of Disease in Marine Molluscs

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0089476FordThis three-year award for U.S.-France cooperative research in marine environment involves Susan E. Ford and Eric N. Powell of Rutgers University's Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, researchers at the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography at Old Dominion University, and Christine Paillard and her group at the Institut Europeen Universitaire de la Mer. The objectives of their project are (1) to construct a numerical model of a marine disease and (2) to test the modeling techniques developed for protozoan parasites on diseases caused by bacteria, such as Brown Ring Disease of marine clams. The US and French investigators bring to this collaboration complementary expertise in ecology and numerical modeling. The project also takes advantage of a long-term database, developed by the French, on Brown Ring Disease of marine clams, which will be integrated into a new model. This award represents the US side of a joint proposal to NSF and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). NSF will cover travel funds and living expenses for the US investigators. The CNRS will support the visits of French researchers to the United States. The collaboration will advance fundamental understanding of complex interactions among host, parasite and environment. More broadly, it will contribute to understanding the role of short and long-term climate variations on the fluctuation of disease of marine molluscs. Results could be valuable to environmental regulators in both countries.