NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2012

全球变化下本土物种的压力源：入侵物种作为传染病的传播媒介随着气候变化的推进，入侵物种在全球传染病传播中的介导作用将越来越突出。本研究将探讨入侵牛蛙通过真菌病原体水蛭壶菌（Batrachochytrium dendroatidis, Bd）在本地两栖动物种群中传播壶菌病的作用。入侵的牛蛙种群现在出现在许多国家，它们与本地蛙类竞争或捕食。此外，牛蛙对Bd具有抗性，是将Bd传播给本地种群的媒介。本研究将结合实地观察研究和实验室控制实验，阐明入侵牛蛙和Bd感染对本地青蛙的影响，为评估入侵物种作为疾病媒介的潜力提供一个框架。此外，这里采用的方法广泛适用于世界上其他压力源、物种对和地区的组合，并且随着气候变化广泛影响世界各地系统中的本地入侵和宿主-病原体相互作用，这种方法将特别相关。扩大参与生态研究的方法将包括为高中学生提供教育推广方案和为高中教师举办培训讲习班。这些项目将给学生和教师机会形成他们自己的假设，设计一个研究来测试这些假设，收集现场数据，分析结果，并向同龄人展示他们的研究。高中学生课程将提供宝贵的机会，让学生在独特的内华达山脉生态系统中进行自己的生态研究，教师工作坊将建立必要的内容知识，将生态研究纳入高中学习目标。

Stressors to native species under global change: Invasive species as vectors of infectious diseaseAs climate change progresses, invasive species will play an increasingly prominent role in mediating the spread of infectious diseases around the world. This research will investigate the role of invasive bullfrogs in spreading chytridiomycosis via the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) to native amphibian populations. Invasive bullfrog populations now occur in numerous countries, and they compete with or prey on native frog species. In addition, bullfrogs are resistant to Bd and act as vectors in spreading Bd to native populations. This research will combine observational field studies with controlled laboratory experiments to disentangle the effects of invasive bullfrogs and Bd infection on native frogs, providing a framework for evaluating the potential for invasive species to serve as disease vectors. Moreover, the approach taken here is broadly applicable to other combinations of stressors, species pairs, and regions of the world, and will be particularly relevant as climate change broadly affects native-invasive and host-pathogen interactions in systems around the world.Approaches to broadening participation in ecological research will include an educational outreach program for high-school students and a training workshop for their teachers. These programs will give students and teachers the opportunity to form their own hypotheses, design a study to test those hypotheses, collect field data, analyze results, and present their studies to peers. The course for high school students will provide a valuable opportunity for students to conduct their own ecological research in the unique Sierra Nevada ecosystem, and the teacher workshop will build the content knowledge necessary to incorporate ecological research into high school learning objectives.