Thursday, August 9, 2007: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
A3&6, San Jose McEnery Convention Center
SYMP 21 - Epidemics, ecological immunology, and environmental change: Insights from theory and field systems
Research advances in the last 10 years have established the crucial, yet frequently hidden role that pathogens and parasites play in ecological systems. Conventional host-parasite models assume that all individuals in a host population are equally susceptible and equally responsible for pathogen transmission – but more recent empirical data suggest that host immune function plays an important role in determining whether an exposed individual will become infected and whether it will be an efficient disease transmitter. At the same time, immune function can be shaped by an organism’s life history strategy and also by external conditions, with environmental changes impacting the ability of organisms to resist infection. This in turn affects whether an epidemic becomes established in a host population, how rapidly it spreads, and whether or how long it persists. This symposium brings together leading researchers in disease ecology, physiological ecology, and the growing field of ecological immunity. Focusing on host organisms that include coral, mice, birds, butterflies, plants, and humans, speakers offer new insights on the importance of individual host variation to advance our understanding about the ways disease epidemics emerge and unfold. These advances have broad ramifications ranging from the way biologists model infectious diseases to how endangered species can be managed in response to threats from pathogens and from global environmental change.
Organizer:Johannes Foufopoulos, University of Michigan
Co-organizer:Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia
Moderator:Johannes Foufopoulos, University of Michigan
1:30 PMSYMP 21-1Temperature, timing, and transmission: Infection and immunity in a migratory butterfly host
Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia, Elizabeth Lindsey, University of Georgia, Jaap de Roode, University of Georgia
1:50 PMSYMP 21-2Good genes but the wrong neighbors: Individual heterogeneity in disease susceptibility in House finches (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Dana M. Hawley, Virginia Tech
2:10 PMSYMP 21-3Disease emergence in populations with heterogeneous immunocompetence
James Lloyd-Smith, Penn State University, Bryan Grenfell, Penn State University
2:30 PMSYMP 21-4Herd immunity, temporal perturbations, and the spatiotemporal dynamics of epidemics
Bryan Grenfell, Penn State University
2:50 PM Break
3:00 PMSYMP 21-5Ecological and life history correlates of immune defenses in tropical birds
Kelly A. Lee, University of California-Davis, Kirk C. Klasing, University of California-Davis, W. Douglas Robinson, Oregon State University, Lynn B. Martin, The Ohio State University, Martin Wikelski, Princeton University
3:20 PMSYMP 21-6Vector transmission within and between native and introduced grass populations: Patterns and consequences
Charles E. Mitchell, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
3:40 PMSYMP 21-7Ecological immunity of corals under climate stress
Laura D. Mydlarz, University of Texas at Arlington, C. Drew Harvell, Cornell University
4:00 PMSYMP 21-8Immune function in birds: How much does it matter in free-ranging populations?
Johannes Foufopoulos, University of Michigan, Courtney Murdock, University of Michigan, Matt Dietz, University of Michigan
4:20 PMSYMP 21-9Parasite co-infections generate temporal and spatial variation in host susceptibility and infectiousness
Isabella Cattadori, Glasgow University, Brian Boag, Birch Brae, Peter Hudson, Penn State University
4:40 PMSYMP 21-10Super-spreaders and super-shedders in a changing world
Peter J. Hudson, Penn State University, Sarah Perkins, Penn State University

See more of Symposium

See more of The ESA/SER Joint Meeting (August 5 -- August 10, 2007)