Landscape Effects on Disease Dynamics in Prairie Dogs

我们的研究调查景观变化和鼠疫发生在黑尾草原犬鼠和相关物种，了解人类健康和生态风险的景观改变和疾病的传入。 黑尾土拨鼠被认为是美国西部短草草原生态系统的“关键”物种。 土拨鼠的数量和分布可能影响许多本地植物和动物物种的出现。 像鼠疫这样的血液疾病通过黑尾草原犬鼠和共同出现的替代哺乳动物宿主之间的接触传播。通过野外数据收集，实验室研究和计算机模拟建模相结合，我们将在本地，景观和区域尺度上研究宿主，病媒和病原体的生态关系，因为我们的研究系统包括景观变化和最近的疾病引入，它代表了许多生态系统所面临的问题，因为栖息地破碎化和疾病传播全球范围内的增加。 通过关注这一宿主-病媒-疾病系统，我们将隔离影响疾病出现和复发的人为影响。 通过仔细研究这个复杂的社区内的接触模式和规模，我们希望发现草原土拨鼠的生态和流行病学关键效应的潜力。这一发现将阐明人类活动对生态系统的影响是否会对疾病传播和动态产生可预测的后果。

Our study investigates landscape change and plague occurrence in the black-tailed prairie dog and associated species, to understand the human health and ecological risks of landscape alteration and disease introduction. Black-tailed prairie dogs have been considered a 'keystone' species of short-grass prairie ecosystems in the western US. The abundance and distribution of prairie dogs may influence the occurrence of many native plant and animal species. Blood diseases like plague spread through contact between black-tailed prairie dogs and co-occurring alternate mammalian hosts. Through a combination of field data collection, laboratory studies, and computer simulation modeling, we will examine ecological relationships of hosts, vectors, and pathogens at the local, landscape, and regional scales.Because our study system includes landscape change and recent disease introduction, it is representative of problems faced by many ecosystems as habitat fragmentation and disease transport increase worldwide. By focusing on this host-vector-disease system we will isolate anthropogenic effects that influence disease emergence and resurgence. By carefully examining the modes and scales of contact within this complex community, we hope to discover the potential for ecological and epidemiological keystone effects of prairie dogs. This discovery will elucidate whether anthropogenic effects on ecological systems can have predictable consequences for disease transmission and dynamics.