Collaborative Research: Ecology of a Reverse Zoonosis: Human-Environment Interactions in the Transmission, Persistence, and Virulence of White Pox Disease in Elkhorn Coral

该项目得到了传染病生态学项目的部分支持。它将调查导致白痘病（WPD）的人类病原体粘质葡萄球菌对海洋无脊椎动物Elkhorn珊瑚的传播。这种珊瑚曾经是加勒比地区最常见的珊瑚，现在根据美国濒危物种法案被指定为受威胁物种。该研究的目标是建立模型来描述Elkhorn珊瑚的种群动态，预测WPD（或acroporid serratiosis）的传播和未来影响，并通过了解驱动这种疾病出现和维持的因素来帮助制定控制策略。为捕捉海洋疾病系统的动态而进行的建模工作是该研究的另一个优势。将考虑水质、气候变化和人口密度模式等因素。在佛罗里达群岛国家海洋保护区和干托尔图加斯国家公园，将在夏季和冬季每半年进行一次采样（如果发生WPD疫情，则每季度进行一次采样）。该科学小组将在以往工作的基础上，扩大对一种涉及人类病原体向加勒比珊瑚一种受威胁物种传播的反向人畜共患病的理解。这是人类疾病首次被证明会导致海洋无脊椎动物数量下降。这些结果将有助于了解该疾病的病原和动态，以及海洋传染病的传播和演变。

This project is part supported by the Ecology of Infectious Diseases program. It will investigate the transmission of the human pathogen S. marcescens, which causes white pox disease (WPD), to the marine invertebrate Elkhorn coral. This coral was once the most common coral in the Caribbean and is now designated as a Threatened Species under the US Endangered Species Act. The goal of the study is to develop models to describe the population dynamics of Elkhorn coral, to predict transmission and future impacts of WPD (or acroporid serratiosis) and to help devise control strategies by understanding the factors that drive the emergence and maintenance of this disease. The modeling effort to capture the dynamics of a marine disease system is another strength of the research. Factors such as water quality, climate variability and patterns of human population density will be considered. Sampling will be performed biannually in summer and winter (or quarterly if WPD outbreaks occur) in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Dry Tortugas National Park.The science team will build upon previous work and broaden the understanding of a reverse zoonosis involving the transmission of a human pathogen to a threatened species of Caribbean coral. This is the first time a human disease has been shown to cause population declines of a marine invertebrate. The results will help understanding the pathogen and dynamics of this disease and the transmission and evolution of marine infectious diseases.