DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Effects of Sex-Differential Parasitism on Disease Dynamicsin a Plant-Fungal System

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Sex differences in infection rates are widespread in natural populations of organisms ranging from plants and invertebrates to amphibians, birds, and mammals. Sex differences are also characteristic of many human diseases, such as HIV. This study will develop a mathematical model to investigate the effects of sex-specific differences in transmission on disease dynamics. Experimental populations of Silene latifolia infected with the pollinator-transmitted fungal pathogen Microbotryum violaceum will be established to estimate the within- and between-sex disease transmission, as well as sex-specific differences in recovery, disease-induced sterility, and mortality. To complement the experimental work, natural populations will be marked to estimate transmission, recovery, and survival rates. Studying disease dynamics in two-sex systems is fundamental for guiding disease control strategies in species of agricultural, medical, and conservation concern. This work will contribute to understanding the spread and maintenance of disease in natural populations. This issue is important because disease drives ecological abundance, and natural populations may act as reservoirs for diseases that are important in agriculture and for human health. These serious concerns make understanding disease dynamics in natural systems imperative.