SGER: Behavioral Factors in the Transmission of West Nile Virus in American Crows

Suny At Binghamton, Binghamton NY

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal 0331703 Anne B. Clark, PI. BEHAVIORAL FACTORS IN THE TRANSMISSION OF WEST NILE VIRUS IN AMERICAN CROWS (Corvus brachyrhynchos) Disease is an under-appreciated but important selection pressure on the evolution of behavior, particularly social behavior. This study takes advantage of a rare opportunity to study the way in which the social behavior of wild animals may contribute to the risks of contracting and transmitting a newly invading disease, West Nile Virus (WNV). WNV threatens not only humans, but also many other species, including endangered populations. Family group-living American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) are especially susceptible and laboratory studies suggest that their complex social behavior and close family relationships may be involved in how they contract and transmit the disease. In 2002, WNV first appeared in a unique marked population of crows studied over 14 years. During 2003, this study will follow individual behavior and illness in these crows to evaluate both the role of time spent in large summer roosts to mosquito transmission and the importance of direct transmission within families due to pro-social behaviors, including parental care of offspring, preening among family members and especially crows' apparent tendency to attend or feed sick group members. By investigating the role of social behavior in the spread of an epidemiologically important disease, this project will contribute to the understanding both of disease as a selection pressure on social behavior in animals and of the risks factors for WNV transmission in wildlife and humans.