OCE-PRF Track 1 (Broadening Participation): Determinants of parasite populations in an estuarine system

寄生虫现在被认为是生态群落的组成部分，但尚未对控制其数量的复杂因素的相对影响进行彻底的调查。在为期两年的博士后研究中，该研究员将对河口系统中自下而上和自上而下的调控以及限制增收对寄生虫种群的相对影响进行实证和理论研究。这项研究将在加州大学圣巴巴拉分校（UCSB）进行，由首席赞助科学家凯文·拉弗蒂（Kevin Lafferty）指导。他还将与另一位赞助科学家、俄勒冈州立大学的简·梅德洛克（Jan Medlock）合作。该研究员将通过设计一个关于宿主-寄生虫相互作用的教学单元，并将该活动呈现给K-12学生群体，从而扩大代表性不足的群体对海洋科学的参与。在这项研究中，他将研究宿主密度和富营养化的相对影响（自下而上的影响），伴随捕食，在自由游动的寄生虫阶段的捕食，以及种群内捕食（自上而下的影响），以及具有复杂生命周期的吸虫寄生虫的招募限制。实验和调查工作的结果将辅以UCSB生态寄生虫学实验室正在进行和已完成的项目的数据，以参数化描述该系统的数学模型。在第二位赞助科学家的指导下，将使用修正的“大寄生虫”方程来模拟寄生虫种群的动态，并测试自下而上效应、自上而下影响和招募限制的相对影响。研究结果将有助于增加关于自下而上与自上而下对人口动态的相对影响以及招募在限制人口方面的作用的知识体系。

Parasites are now recognized as integral members of ecological communities, yet thorough investigation of the relative influences of the complex factors controlling their populations has not been undertaken. In this two year postdoctoral research fellowship, the fellow will pursue empirical and theoretical investigations into the relative influences of bottom-up and top-down regulation and recruitment limitation on parasite populations in an estuarine system. The research will take place at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) under the direction of the lead sponsoring scientist Kevin Lafferty. The fellow will also work with a second sponsoring scientist, Jan Medlock at Oregon State University. The fellow will broaden participation of under-represented groups in ocean sciences by designing a teachable unit on host-parasite interactions and presenting this activity to groups of K-12 students.In this research effort, the fellow will investigate the relative influences of host density and eutrophication (bottom-up influences), concomitant predation, predation on free-swimming parasite stages, and intraguild predation (top-down influences), and recruitment limitation in a guild of trematode parasites with complex life cycles. Results of experimental and survey work will be supplemented with data from ongoing and completed projects in the UCSB Ecological Parasitology Laboratory to parameterize mathematical models describing the system. Under the direction of the second sponsoring scientist, modified 'macroparasite' equations will be used to model the dynamics of parasite populations, and test the relative influences of bottom-up effects, top-down influences, and recruitment limitation. Research findings will contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the relative influence of bottom-up vs. top-down effects on population dynamics and the role of recruitment in limiting populations.