Host-pathogen interactions occur in a complicated world, subject to a multitude of human-induced stressors. This project will examine the impact of one such stressor on the host-pathogen interaction between a yeast (Metschnikowia bicuspidata) parasitic to a zooplankton host (Daphnia dentifera). Pesticides enter aquatic systems through agricultural runoff, and have the potential to alter community composition, host population dynamics and host-parasite interactions. While pesticide exposure has been found to influence host demography and pathogen prevalence, a mechanistic basis remains unclear. Further, pesticide exposure is often treated as binary (either present or absent), despite the potential for interesting nonlinear relationships between pesticide concentration and pathogen prevalence (in-host) or pathogen survival (off-host).
We will examine pathogen spore survival along a spectrum of pesticide concentrations. These data will then be used to fit an epidemiological model examining the impact pesticide concentration on epidemics. Lastly, we will use microcosms to investigate the influence of pesticide concentration on epidemics in host populations.
- Infected Daphnia dentifera
Population Biology of Infectious Diseases REU Site 