Landscape Effects on Disease Dynamics in Prairie Dogs

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

Our study investigates landscape change and plague occurrence in the black-tailed prairie dog and associated species, to understand the human health and ecological risks of landscape alteration and disease introduction. Black-tailed prairie dogs have been considered a 'keystone' species of short-grass prairie ecosystems in the western US. The abundance and distribution of prairie dogs may influence the occurrence of many native plant and animal species. Blood diseases like plague spread through contact between black-tailed prairie dogs and co-occurring alternate mammalian hosts. Through a combination of field data collection, laboratory studies, and computer simulation modeling, we will examine ecological relationships of hosts, vectors, and pathogens at the local, landscape, and regional scales. Because our study system includes landscape change and recent disease introduction, it is representative of problems faced by many ecosystems as habitat fragmentation and disease transport increase worldwide. By focusing on this host-vector-disease system we will isolate anthropogenic effects that influence disease emergence and resurgence. By carefully examining the modes and scales of contact within this complex community, we hope to discover the potential for ecological and epidemiological keystone effects of prairie dogs. This discovery will elucidate whether anthropogenic effects on ecological systems can have predictable consequences for disease transmission and dynamics.