OOS 33
The Macroecology of Infectious Disease

Tuesday, August 11, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
344, Baltimore Convention Center
Organizer:
Patrick R. Stephens, University of Georgia
Co-organizers:
John L. Gittleman, University of Georgia; and Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia
Moderator:
Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia
A critical issue facing modern science is identifying global-scale patterns and drivers of infectious diseases and their impacts on humans and natural ecosystems. Despite decades of research on pathogen ecology and emergence, many fundamental questions have only recently been addressed at very large spatial and taxonomic scales, such as what drives global patterns of pathogen diversity and endemism, are their generalizable predictors of cross-species transmission and zoonotic disease emergence, and how might anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat loss and climate change impact regional variation in disease outcomes? Macroecology, a synthetic approach to patterns and processes at large spatial, temporal and taxonomic scales, is rapidly unifying many disparate fields, including behavior, ecology, evolution, sustainability, social demographics, and economics. Our organized oral session will showcase how the perspectives and tools of macroecology can transform scientific understanding of infectious disease ecology. Integrating macroecology and infectious disease ecology has the potential to provide insights about scaling properties across all living taxa, novel methodological approaches for mapping pathogen diversity and risk, and, ultimately, a framework for more accurately predicting global patterns of infectious disease and emergence in the face of rapid environmental change.
1:30 PM
 Macro perspectives on disease and ecological change
John L. Gittleman, University of Georgia
1:50 PM
 Machine learning to predict new bat reservoirs of filoviruses: Africa and beyond
Barbara Han, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; John Paul Schmidt, University of Georgia; David T. S. Hayman, Massey University; Sarah E. Bowden, University of Georgia; John M. Drake, University of Georgia
2:10 PM
 Richness and diversity of amphibian parasite communities in North America: A macroecological approach
Sarah E. Haas, University of Colorado, Boulder; Pieter T.J. Johnson, University of Colorado
2:30 PM
 Parasite sharing in wild ungulates and their predators: The effects of phylogeny, range overlap, and trophic links
Patrick R. Stephens, University of Georgia; Emili Price, Winthrop University; John L. Gittleman, University of Georgia; Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia
2:50 PM
 Parasite diversity and host evolution: A global analysis of carnivores
Shan Huang, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F); John M. Drake, University of Georgia; John L. Gittleman, University of Georgia; Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia
3:10 PM
3:20 PM
 Using niche modeling to detect unobserved interactions in host-parasite networks
Tad Dallas, University of Georgia; John M. Drake, University of Georgia
3:40 PM
 What parasite and host traits best explain the geographic range of mammal parasites and diseases?
James E. (Jeb) Byers, University of Georgia; Paula Pappalardo, University of Georgia; John Paul Schmidt, University of Georgia; Patrick R. Stephens, University of Georgia; Sarah Haas, Univ. of Colorado; Charles Nunn, Duke University; John M. Drake, University of Georgia; Tad Dallas, University of Georgia
4:00 PM
 A macro ecological approach to zoonotic emerging pathogens: A key role of interspecies barriers, examined by metacommunity and phylogenetic theories
A. Alonso Aguirre, George Mason University; Gerardo Suzán, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia; Gabriel E. García-Peña, Centre de Recherche IRD; Ivan Castro-Arellano, Texas State University
4:20 PM
 Identifying triggers of Ebola spillover events using spatio-temporal envelop models
John Paul Schmidt, University of Georgia; Andrew W. Park, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia; John M. Drake, University of Georgia; Laura Alexander, University of Georgia
4:40 PM
 An “equilibrium theory” signature in the island distribution of human pathogens
William R. Burnside, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC); Kevin Jean, Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP); Jean-François Guégan, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement de Montpellier