EID: Collaborative Research: Invasion and Infection: Translocation and Transmission: An Experimental Study with Mycoplasma in Desert Tortoises

莫哈韦西部太阳能电池板的开发导致大量受到威胁的沙漠龟被从一个地点转移到另一个地点。研究表明，由于栖息地丧失和肺炎感染，该物种已受到威胁，而龟的易位将加剧疾病风险。该项目将以沙漠龟为模型系统，研究社会网络结构对疾病传播动力学的影响。该项目将使用非致命性支原体感染和受控介绍来跟踪疾病在一个系统中的传播，在该系统中可以跟踪所有个人的运动和相互作用。调查人员将检查易位何时扰乱接触模式并增加爆发的可能性。具体地说，他们将在小范围和大范围进行详细的实验，并将这些实验与概率网络模型联系起来。该项目的一个基本部分是确定人口结构、接触模式和疾病传播之间的关系，这种关系可以更普遍地用于预测疾病爆发的可能性。其中一个成果将是一种管理工具，可用于评估与乌龟易位有关的疾病爆发风险。更广泛地说，研究人员试图在包括人和牲畜在内的其他类型的人群中检查接触模式和疾病风险之间的关系。在这方面，这项研究将对理解新发感染如何入侵幼稚人口具有重要意义。

Solar panel development in the Western Mojave has resulted in a large number of threatened Desert Tortoises being moved from one location to another. Studies have shown that this species has become threatened through habitat loss and pneumonia infections and the translocation of tortoises will exacerbate disease risk. This project will examine the effects of social network structure on disease transmission dynamics using desert tortoises as a model system. The project will use a non-fatal mycoplasm infection and controlled introductions to follow disease spread in a system where the movements and interactions of all individuals can be tracked. The investigators will examine when translocation disrupts contact patterns and increases likelihood of an outbreak. Specifically they will undertake detailed experiments at both small and large scales and link these with probabilistic network models. A fundamental part of this project is to identify a relationship between population structure, contact patterns and disease spread that can be used more generally to predict the likelihood of disease outbreaks. One outcome will be a management tool that can be used to assess risk of disease outbreaks in relation to tortoise translocation. More generally the researchers seek to examine the relationships between contact patterns and disease risk in other types of populations, including human and livestock. In this respect this study will be of great importance in understanding how emerging infections invade naïve populations.