CAREER: Evolutionary Disease Ecology- Can evolutionary responses to environmental change modify the biodiversity-disease relationship?

了解新出现的传染病的模式是全球关注的前沿。这项研究的问题是：“为什么有些社区比其他社区更容易感染疾病？”为了解决这个广泛的问题，这项工作的重点是了解生物多样性如何影响社区疾病风险。虽然许多研究发现生物多样性较高的社区疾病风险较低，但一些研究表明生物多样性对疾病风险没有影响，其他研究甚至发现相反的影响(即生物多样性较高的社区疾病风险较高)。总体而言，生物多样性可以降低疾病风险的想法很有吸引力，因为它表明保护生物多样性对自然和社会都有明显的好处。这项研究检验了核心假设，即种群对过去条件(即进化史)反应的隐蔽差异在理解生物多样性何时将降低疾病风险方面发挥着重要作用。这个职业奖项将开发一个支持本科生艺术家、工程师、生物学家和教育工作者的暑期研究和推广计划，以及一个三年级公民科学培训计划。生物多样性与疾病(BDD)的关系作为预测社区疾病结果的理论框架引起了相当大的关注。然而，对于BDD关系的普遍性达成的共识有限，导致人们一再呼吁揭示影响BDD关系规模和方向的因素。这项研究测试了一种假说，即由不同的进化史产生的种内寄主变异在塑造BDD关系的方向和大小方面起着隐蔽的作用。为此，这项研究侧重于两栖动物宿主与寄生虫的相互作用，并利用了一组实验上容易驯化的局部林蛙种群，这些种群由于在不同的环境中进化而显示出寄生虫易感性的种内差异。研究人员将首先评估种内变异对形成BDD关系的贡献，方法是产生在两栖动物寄主物种多样性和局部寄主种内多样性方面存在差异的中体群落。其次，为了将生态环境整合到我们对种内变异如何影响BDD关系的理解中，研究人员将进行实验室和中观研究，测试焦点宿主的种内变异是否可以通过改变(A)竞争性、(B)捕食者-猎物或(C)宿主微生物区系的相互作用来塑造BDD关系。第三，为了补充受控的实验研究，研究人员将进行一项由公民领导的实地调查，以评估在更复杂的自然生态系统中，种内变异是否改变了BDD关系。为此，研究人员将制定一个分两步走的教育-研究一体化计划：(1)内容开发：研究人员将设计一个跨学科计划，在该计划中，本科生将与当地的传播和教育专家合作，制定公民培训计划。(2)实施：公民将完成培训计划并收集有助于总体研究目标的实地数据。总体而言，这一整合将促进公民数据收集工作，使STEM培训和参与多样化，并扩大获得真实研究机会的机会。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Understanding patterns of emerging infectious diseases is at the forefront of global interest. This research asks: “Why are some communities more vulnerable to diseases than others?" To address this broad question, this work focuses on understanding how biodiversity influences community disease risk. While many studies find that communities with higher biodiversity have lower disease risk, some studies show no effect of biodiversity on disease risk and others even find the opposite effect (i.e. communities with higher biodiversity have higher disease risk). Overall, the idea that biodiversity can reduce disease risk is attractive because it suggests that protecting biodiversity has clear benefits to both nature and society. This research tests the central hypothesis that cryptic differences in population’s responses to past conditions (i.e. evolutionary history) plays an important role in understanding when biodiversity will reduce disease risk. This CAREER award will develop a summer research and outreach program that supports undergraduate artists, engineers, biologists, and educators and a 3rd grade citizen science training program.The Biodiversity-Disease (BDD) Relationship has generated considerable attention as a theoretical framework for predicting community disease outcomes. Yet, limited consensus on the generality of the BDD relationship has been reached leading to repeated calls to uncover factors shaping the magnitude and direction of the BDD relationship. This research tests the hypothesis that intraspecific host variation, generated by divergent evolutionary histories, plays a cryptic role in shaping the direction and magnitude of the BDD relationship. To this end, the research focuses on amphibian host-parasite interactions and takes advantage of an experimentally tractable group of focal wood frog populations that exhibit intraspecific variation in parasite susceptibility as a result of evolving in contrasting environments. The researchers will first, evaluate the contribution of intraspecific variation to shaping the BDD relationship by generating mesocosm communities that vary in amphibian host species diversity and focal host intraspecific diversity. Second, to integrate ecological context into our understanding of how intraspecific variation influences the BDD relationship, the researchers will conduct lab and mesocosm studies testing whether intraspecific variation in focal hosts can shape the BDD relationship by modifying (a) competitive, (b) predator-prey, or (c) host microbiota interactions. Third, to complement the controlled experimental studies, the researchers will conduct a citizen-led field surveys to evaluate whether intraspecific variation modifies the BDD relationship in more complex natural ecosystems. Towards this aim, the researchers will develop a two-step integrated education-research program: (1) Content development: Researchers will design an interdisciplinary program where undergraduates work with local communication and education experts to develop a citizen training program. (2) Implementation: Citizens will complete training program and collect field data that contributes to the overarching research goals. Collectively, this integration will facilitate citizen data collection efforts, diversify STEM training and engagement, and broaden access to authentic research opportunities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.