CAREER: An Integrative Approach to Predicting Amphibian Chytridiomycosis in Space and Time

许多传染病所表现出的季节性周期提醒人们气候对宿主与病原体相互作用的影响，但人们对将环境变化与流行病学模式联系起来的机制往往知之甚少。需要更清楚地了解气候与宿主-病原体相互作用之间的关系，以预测和减轻传染病对人类和野生动物造成的风险。两栖类壶菌 Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) 会引起壶菌病，这种疾病与全世界青蛙的数量减少和灭绝有关，并且似乎是造成持续的两栖动物灭绝危机的重要原因。该项目将通过阐明气候变化影响两栖动物壶菌病风险的行为和免疫机制，有助于我们了解这种宿主与病原体相互作用的流行病学。该项目团队将通过开发初中、高中和大学课程将研究和教育结合起来。他们将使用两栖动物壶菌病系统作为模型，开发学习模块，重点教授气候变化如何通过其对生理的影响来影响生态过程。该项目团队将量化气候、寄主行为和 Bd 易感性之间的关系，并利用其 (1) 对疾病风险进行时空预测，以及 (2) 向 K-12 和大学生教授气候变化对生态系统的潜在影响。该项目的研究部分将通过各种热条件下的实验室暴露实验来评估 (I) 温度对致病性和免疫防御的影响，以及 (II) 行为发烧反应在对抗 Bd 感染方面的有效性。同时，将在现场测量宿主体温和可用的微气候，以确定（III）热介导宿主防御的机会如何随空间和时间变化。最终，目标 I - III 的发现将用于开发生物物理模型 (IV)，以预测两栖动物何时何地将无法避免或对抗 Bd，从而导致它们容易死亡和衰退。该项目的教育部分将利用研究结果和技术来开发、采用和评估新课程，以教授气候变化对生态过程的影响。这些课程的核心将是体验式学习和“公民科学”方法，促进 K-12 和大学课堂对研究的反馈。

The seasonal cycles exhibited by many infectious diseases are a reminder of the effects of climate on host-pathogen interactions, yet the mechanisms that link environmental variation to epidemiological patterns are often poorly understood. A clearer understanding of the relationship between climate and host-pathogen interactions is needed to predict and mitigate the risks that infectious diseases pose to humans and wildlife. The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) causes the disease chytridiomycosis, which has been linked to declines and extinctions of frogs worldwide and appears to be an important contributor to the ongoing amphibian extinction crisis. This project will contribute to our understanding of the epidemiology of this host-pathogen interaction by clarifying the behavioral and immunological mechanisms by which climatic variation shapes the risk of chytridiomycosis in amphibians. The project team will integrate research and education through the development of middle school, high school and university level curricula. Using the amphibian chytridiomycosis system as a model, they will develop learning modules centered on teaching how changes in climate, via their effects on physiology, can impact ecological processes. The project team will quantify the relationship between climate, host behavior and Bd susceptibility and use it to (1) make spatiotemporal predictions of disease risk and (2) teach K-12 and university students about the potential impacts of climate change on ecosystems. The research component of this project will assess (I) the effect of temperature on pathogenicity and immune defense, and (II) the effectiveness of a behavioral fever response in combating Bd infection using lab exposure experiments under a variety of thermal conditions. Concurrently, host body temperatures and available microclimates will be measured in the field to determine (III) how the opportunity for thermally-mediated host defense varies in space and time. Ultimately, the findings of objectives I - III will be used to develop biophysical models (IV) to predict where and when amphibians will be unable avoid or combat Bd, leaving them susceptible to mortality and declines. The education component of this project will use findings and techniques from the research to develop, employ, and evaluate new curricula for teaching the impacts of climate change on ecological processes. At the core of these curricula will be experiential learning and a "citizen science" approach, facilitating feedback from K-12 and university classrooms to the research.