Journal article
Age of first infection across a range of parasite taxa in a wild mammalian population
Leigh Combrink, Caroline K Glidden, Bree R Beechler, Bryan Charleston, Anson Koehler, Danielle Sisson, Robin B Gasser, Abdul Jabbar, Anna E Jolles
Biology Letters | ROYAL SOC | Published : 2020
Abstract
Newborn mammals have an immature immune system that cannot sufficiently protect them against infectious diseases. However, variation in the effectiveness of maternal immunity against different parasites may couple with temporal trends in parasite exposure to influence disparities in the timing of infection risk. Determining the relationship between age and infection risk is critical in identifying the portion of a host population that contributes to parasite dynamics, as well as the parasites that regulate host recruitment. However, there are no data directly identifying timing of first infection among parasites in wildlife. Here, we took advantage of a longitudinal dataset, tracking infecti..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by Morris Animal Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
Awarded by USDA-NIFA AFRI
Awarded by UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council as part of the joint USDA-NSF-NIH-BBSRC Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program
Funding Acknowledgements
L.C. was supported by a Morris Animal Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (grant no. D18ZO-405). C.K.G. was supported by an NSF Graduate Student Research Fellowship, NSF Graduate Opportunities Worldwide Fellowship and Achievement Rewards for College Scientist Fellowship. A.V.K. and R.B.G. were supported by the Australian Research Council, Yourgene Bioscience and Melbourne Water. This study was supported by the USDA-NIFA AFRI (grant no. 2013-67015-21291) and by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant no. BB/L011085/1) as part of the joint USDA-NSF-NIH-BBSRC Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program, as well as the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, under the seed grant scheme, Research Initiatives Fund 2018.