IRFP: Rainfall and herbivory: characterizing the transmission route for anthrax in grazing wildlife

1103054特纳国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行9到24个月的研究。该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，以及使用国外独特或互补的设施，专业知识和实验条件。该奖项与国际科学与工程办公室的ANESA项目共同资助。该奖项将支持Wendy C.博士为期24个月的研究奖学金。Turner教授与挪威奥斯陆的奥斯陆大学的Nils Chr. Stenseth教授和Anne-Brit Kolstenth教授以及纳米比亚温得和克的纳米比亚大学的Isaac Mapaure教授合作。像许多其他病原体一样，B。宿主之间的炭疽菌通过外部环境传播。 环境条件的变化，特别是降雨量，与许多疾病发病率的增加密切相关，但降雨量和疾病传播之间的机械关系往往是未知的。 以食草性野生动物中的炭疽为模型系统，该项目利用消费者-资源相互作用理论，结合实地研究和统计建模，描述了季节性传染病的决定因素。 据推测，放牧动物暴露于B。在以前的炭疽尸体地点觅食时，炭疽孢子的暴露程度取决于降雨量。 PI正在纳米比亚埃托沙国家公园进行两项实地研究，以验证这些假设。 第一种是在炭疽尸体地点进行纵向观察研究，以确定B的丰度。炭疽孢子在草叶上的分布以及孢子数量如何随降雨量变化。 第二个是一个自然的实验，使用运动传感摄像机陷阱，以确定主机是否选择性地在尸体的网站，并在什么时间尺度觅食。 层次模型被用来确定是否可以通过降雨量，孢子丰度和主机觅食行为的变化，重点是平原斑马（驴）的机械解释降雨量和炭疽发病率之间的相关性。 这项研究的结果将提供一个广泛分布的，季节性发生的传染病的重要性，农业，野生动物管理和公共卫生背后的传播机制的理解。 只有当我们了解了降雨和食草动物暴露于B之间的关系。炭疽病，我们能否预测动物接触和炭疽动态可能如何随着各种气候变化模型下降雨模式的预期变化而变化。 了解放牧系统中炭疽爆发背后的机制将进一步提供关于需要在何处、何时以及如何采取控制措施以减少动物接触的信息。 教育和培训是拟议研究的重要组成部分。 除了扩大PI的培训，科学专业知识和国际合作外，该项目还将进一步发展她作为导师和教育者的技能。

1103054TurnerThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award is co-funded with the ANESA Program in the Office of International Science and Engineering.This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Wendy C. Turner to work with Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth and Professor Anne-Brit Kolstø at the University of Oslo in Oslo, Norway and Professor Isaac Mapaure at the University of Namibia in Windhoek, Namibia.Many mysteries remain in understanding how herbivorous hosts acquire Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium causing anthrax infections. Like many other disease agents, transmission of B. anthracis between hosts involves passage through the external environment. Changes in environmental conditions, particularly rainfall, strongly correlate with increases in the incidence of many diseases, but the mechanistic relationships between rainfall and disease transmission are often unknown. Using anthrax in herbivorous wildlife as a model system, this project characterizes the determinants of a seasonally occurring infectious disease using consumer-resource interaction theory coupled with field studies and statistical modeling. It is hypothesized that grazing animals are exposed to B. anthracis spores when foraging at previous anthrax carcass sites and that the level of exposure at these sites is rainfall dependent. The PI is testing these hypotheses with two field studies based in Etosha National Park, Namibia. The first is a longitudinal observational study at anthrax carcass sites to determine the abundance of B. anthracis spores on grass leaves and how spore quantity varies in response to rainfall. The second is a natural experiment using motion sensing camera traps to determine if hosts selectively forage at carcass sites and over what time scale. Hierarchical models are used to determine if the observed correlation between rainfall and anthrax incidence can be explained mechanistically through variation in rainfall, spore abundance and host foraging behavior, with a focus on plains zebra (Equus quagga). Results of this research will provide an understanding of the mechanisms behind transmission of a widely distributed, seasonally occurring infectious disease of importance to farming, wildlife management and public health. Only once we understand the relationships between rainfall and exposure of grazers to B. anthracis, can we predict how animal exposure and anthrax dynamics may change with anticipated changes in rainfall patterns under various models of climate change. Understanding the mechanisms behind anthrax outbreaks in grazing systems will further provide information on where, when and how control measures need to be directed in order to lessen animal exposure. Education and training are essential components of the proposed research. In addition to broadening the PI's training, scientific expertise and international collaborations, this project will further develop her skills as a mentor and educator.