Setting the table for wildlife disease outbreaks? Resource heterogeneity, pathogen transmission and zoonotic disease emergence

Habitat loss has sent many wildlife populations into decline, but some species can use novel food resources made available by humans. These resources can alter the transmission of wildlife pathogens and bring wildlife into proximity with humans and livestock. Bats from multiple genera serve as hosts for viruses that sporadically transmit to humans and cause virulent infections. This talk will highlight past studies on bat-viral interactions in southern Asia, Australia and South America that demonstrate resource-driven changes to bat ecology and behavior, with consequences for viral transmission within bat populations, and from bats to other species, including humans.