DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Selective Predators and the Dynamics of Host-Parasite Interactions

论文研究：选择性捕食者和宿主-寄生虫相互作用的动态

• 批准号: 0508270
• 负责人: Jeffrey Conner
• 金额: $ 1.07万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-07-01 至 2007-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0508270&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Selective; Predators; Dynamics

While disease outbreaks are receiving increased public attention, especially in humans and endangered or economically important species, our knowledge of the factors controlling parasitic disease in nature remains woefully incomplete. The idea that selective culling of infected animals by predators can decrease parasitism is not new, yet there have been no large-scale, controlled experiments testing the effects of selective predation on parasitism. Further, the effect of predation is not always straightforward: in many cases, a predator can also facilitate parasite transmission by dispersing eggs or spores of the parasite throughout the environment. In these cases, the combined effects of predation on parasitism are unclear. I have developed an epidemiological model that incorporates selective predation of infected animals as well as survival of parasite spores, which are released back into the environment. The proposed research will test the predictions of this model using fungus-infected zooplankton and fish predators as a model system. This will provide the first experimental test of the effects of predation on parasitism. Rates of parasitism are predicted to increase in the near future as a result of anthropogenic environmental stresses; however, this prediction is based on incomplete knowledge of the factors controlling parasitism. Contributing to this knowledge is an important broader impact of this proposal. Additional broader impacts include training a graduate student and an undergraduate at the interface of mathematical and experimental field ecology, and the dissemination of project results on the internet.

虽然疾病的爆发越来越受到公众的关注，特别是在人类和濒危或经济上重要的物种中，但我们对控制自然界寄生虫病的因素的了解仍然很不完整。捕食者选择性淘汰感染动物可以减少寄生虫的想法并不新鲜，但还没有大规模的控制实验来测试选择性捕食对寄生虫的影响。此外，捕食的影响并不总是直截了当地：在许多情况下，捕食者还可以通过在整个环境中散布寄生虫的卵或孢子来促进寄生虫的传播。在这些情况下，捕食对寄生的综合影响尚不清楚。我开发了一个流行病学模型，其中包括对受感染动物的选择性捕食以及寄生虫孢子的存活，这些孢子被释放回环境中。拟议的研究将使用真菌感染的浮游动物和鱼类捕食者作为模型系统来测试该模型的预测。这将为捕食对寄生的影响提供第一个实验测试。由于人为的环境压力，预计在不久的将来寄生率会增加；然而，这种预测是基于对控制寄生的因素的不完全了解。促进这方面的知识是本建议的一个重要的更广泛的影响。其他更广泛的影响包括培养一名研究生和一名本科生在数学和实验领域生态学的界面，以及在互联网上传播项目结果。