Urbanization and Macroparasite Infection of Amphibians

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Understanding long term trends in infection and disease is hindered by the lack of methods capable of estimating their frequency in the past. In this project, investigators will adapt ultrasound imaging technology developed for biomedical purposes to examine the history of infection and disease in wildlife. The research will take advantage of the many thousands of specimens held by natural history museums to evaluate, specifically, whether there is an association between development of the environment by humans and the rates and intensities of infection and disease in amphibians. A link between development and disease has been inferred, but data to test the association are sparse.Funding of this project leverages both the enormous investments made in the pursuit of biomedical advances as well as the prior efforts of museum based scientists. The combination of an advanced imaging technique and the traditional practice of natural history will promote the nondestructive use of irreplaceable museum specimens. The investigators also propose to use safe, quick ultrasound imaging techniques on live animals reducing the need to sacrifice animals to evaluate infection and its consequences. Collectively, the research will illuminate a poorly understood relationship between human use of the environment and the consequences for natural systems.