Research Starter Grant: The Role of Competition Among Parasites in Driving Patterns of Disease

人们日益认识到寄生虫是许多生态系统的重要组成部分，并可对人类健康产生各种影响。尽管人们认识到寄生虫的重要性，但很少有人注意到宿主内寄生虫之间可能发生的相互作用，包括竞争。这种相互作用可能影响种群动态和群落组成。该项目将采取两种方法来解决寄生虫之间潜在的竞争。首先，它将使用从密歇根州18个湖泊收集的一种常见的浮游动物Daphnia dentifera寄生虫的长期数据集来探索寄生虫之间竞争的可能性。其次，它将采用实验方法来研究这些竞争相互作用是如何发生的。这些方法的结合将为一个有趣的生态问题提供一个全面的答案。寄生虫在许多生物的种群动态中起着重要作用，经常对人类健康产生严重影响。因此，更好地了解寄生虫如何相互作用可能为如何最好地减轻与寄生虫有关的问题提供线索。同时，这项工作将有助于提高寄生虫的基本生态知识及其对自然种群的影响。此外，该工作还将为女性博士后和本科生提供培训和教育机会。

Parasites are increasingly recognized as an important component of many ecological systems and can have a variety of effects on human health. Despite the recognized importance of parasites, little attention has been placed on the interactions, including competition, that may occur among parasites within a host. Such interactions may influence both population dynamics and community composition. This project will take two approaches to address the potential for competition between parasites. First, it will use a long-term dataset of parasites of Daphnia dentifera, a common species of zooplankton, collected from 18 lakes in Michigan, to explore the possibilities for competition among parasites. Second, it will take an experimental approach to examine how these competitive interactions may occur. This combination of approaches will provide a comprehensive answer to an intriguing ecological question.Parasites are important in population dynamics of many organisms and frequently have serious effects on human health. Thus, a better understanding of how parasites interact may provide clues for how best to alleviate problems associated with parasitism. At the same time, this work will help advance basic ecological knowledge of parasites and the influence they may have on natural populations. In addition, the proposed work will provide training and education opportunities for a female post-doctoral fellow and for undergraduate students.