SGER: Behavioral Factors in the Transmission of West Nile Virus in American Crows

提案0331703安妮·B·克拉克，PI。西尼罗河病毒在美洲乌鸦中传播的行为因素对行为的进化，特别是社会行为，是一种未被充分认识但却是重要的选择压力。这项研究利用了一个难得的机会来研究野生动物的社会行为可能会导致感染和传播一种新入侵的疾病西尼罗河病毒(WNV)的风险的方式。西尼罗河病毒不仅威胁人类，还威胁许多其他物种，包括濒临灭绝的种群。家庭群居的美洲乌鸦(Corvus Brachyribrnchos)特别容易感染这种疾病，实验室研究表明，它们复杂的社会行为和密切的家庭关系可能与它们如何感染和传播疾病有关。2002年，西尼罗河病毒首次出现在一个经过14年研究的独特的标记乌鸦种群中。在2003年，这项研究将跟踪这些乌鸦的个体行为和疾病，以评估在大型夏季栖息地度过的时间对蚊子传播的作用，以及由于亲社会行为而在家庭内直接传播的重要性，包括父母对后代的照顾，家庭成员之间的梳理，特别是乌鸦明显倾向于照顾或喂养生病的群体成员。通过调查社会行为在一种流行病重要疾病传播中的作用，该项目将有助于理解疾病作为对动物社会行为的选择压力，以及西尼罗河病毒在野生动物和人类中传播的风险因素。

Proposal 0331703 Anne B. Clark, PI. BEHAVIORAL FACTORS IN THE TRANSMISSION OF WEST NILE VIRUS IN AMERICAN CROWS (Corvus brachyrhynchos) Disease is an under-appreciated but important selection pressure on the evolution of behavior, particularly social behavior. This study takes advantage of a rare opportunity to study the way in which the social behavior of wild animals may contribute to the risks of contracting and transmitting a newly invading disease, West Nile Virus (WNV). WNV threatens not only humans, but also many other species, including endangered populations. Family group-living American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) are especially susceptible and laboratory studies suggest that their complex social behavior and close family relationships may be involved in how they contract and transmit the disease. In 2002, WNV first appeared in a unique marked population of crows studied over 14 years. During 2003, this study will follow individual behavior and illness in these crows to evaluate both the role of time spent in large summer roosts to mosquito transmission and the importance of direct transmission within families due to pro-social behaviors, including parental care of offspring, preening among family members and especially crows' apparent tendency to attend or feed sick group members. By investigating the role of social behavior in the spread of an epidemiologically important disease, this project will contribute to the understanding both of disease as a selection pressure on social behavior in animals and of the risks factors for WNV transmission in wildlife and humans.