Dissertation Research: Sick in the city? Hosts and parasites in urban and non-urban habitats

论文研究：在城市生病了？

• 批准号: 1406496
• 负责人: Ellen Ketterson
• 金额: $ 2.03万
• 依托单位: Indiana University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-08-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1406496&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Sick; city; Hosts

As cities grow larger and more species of animals make their homes in urban habitats, it becomes increasingly important to understand the effects of city life on animal health. Parasite infections can have significant impacts on animal survival and physiology, and urban habitats may change parasite infections in several ways. For example, urban habitats may change both the stressors that animals experience and their immune resistance to parasites. However, little is known about parasites in urban vs non-urban populations of vertebrate animals, including how they affect animal health and whether urban animals have different levels of stress hormones or immunity to parasites. This research will provide critical knowledge about the parasites that birds must withstand in order to survive in urban areas, which will inform future conservation efforts in urban habitats. This work will also help protect human health, since urban birds are potential reservoirs of human diseases; for example, urban birds are more likely to be infected with West Nile Virus than non-urban birds. Understanding what parasites urban birds are infected by, and what physiological states are associated with these infections, can help us better prevent disease spread from birds to humans. In order to better understand the effects of urbanization on parasitism and host physiology, the researchers will study a songbird, the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), from multiple cities and non-urban habitats across California. Previous research has found considerable variation in phenotype and parasitism between an urban and neighboring non-urban population of juncos. In a non-urban population, there was higher prevalence of parasites that require vectors for transmission. In the neighboring urban population, there was greater prevalence and intensity of directly and environmentally transmitted parasites, including an intestinal parasite, coccidia (Isospora sp.). Urban hosts also differed in endocrine physiology from non-urban birds. This project will combine extensive field surveys and aviary experiments to test 1) whether urbanization consistently results in these same patterns for environmentally transmitted versus vector-borne parasites; and 2) whether the observed difference in coccidia infection intensity between the urban and non-urban populations is due to traits of the host (relating to stress response and immune function) or traits of the parasite. By combining approaches from disease ecology and eco-immunology, this project will address the critical links among habitat characteristics, parasitism, and host phenotypes.

随着城市规模的扩大，越来越多的动物在城市栖息地安家，了解城市生活对动物健康的影响变得越来越重要。 寄生虫感染可能对动物的生存和生理产生重大影响，城市栖息地可能会以多种方式改变寄生虫感染。 例如，城市栖息地可能会改变动物所经历的压力和它们对寄生虫的免疫抵抗力。 然而，人们对城市与非城市脊椎动物种群中的寄生虫知之甚少，包括它们如何影响动物健康，以及城市动物是否具有不同水平的应激激素或对寄生虫的免疫力。这项研究将提供有关鸟类为了在城市地区生存而必须承受的寄生虫的关键知识，这将为未来城市栖息地的保护工作提供信息。这项工作还将有助于保护人类健康，因为城市鸟类是人类疾病的潜在宿主;例如，城市鸟类比非城市鸟类更有可能感染西尼罗河病毒。了解城市鸟类感染的寄生虫以及与这些感染相关的生理状态，可以帮助我们更好地预防疾病从鸟类传播给人类。为了更好地了解城市化对寄生和宿主生理的影响，研究人员将研究一种鸣禽，黑眼Junco（Junco hyemalis），来自加州的多个城市和非城市栖息地。 先前的研究发现，容科斯的城市和邻近的非城市种群之间的表型和寄生率存在相当大的差异。在非城市人口中，需要媒介传播的寄生虫流行率较高。在邻近的城市人口中，直接和环境传播的寄生虫，包括肠道寄生虫球虫（等孢球虫属）的患病率和强度更高。城市宿主的内分泌生理也不同于非城市鸟类。该项目将联合收割机结合广泛的实地调查和鸟舍实验，以测试1）城市化是否始终导致这些相同的模式，环境传播与媒介传播的寄生虫;和2）是否观察到的差异，球虫感染强度之间的城市和非城市人口是由于宿主的特性（有关应激反应和免疫功能）或寄生虫的特性。通过结合疾病生态学和生态免疫学的方法，该项目将解决栖息地特征，寄生和宿主表型之间的关键联系。