NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2014

Ferguson Adam W, Lubbock TX

Investigators

Abstract

NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biology combine research and training components to prepare young scientists for careers in biology and provide them an opportunity to establish international collaborations and take advantage of research facilities and opportunities abroad. Forging strong international collaborations is mutually beneficial to the U.S. and the foreign hosts. This fellowship to Adam W. Ferguson supports research and training to understand the role of human disturbance in shaping the parasite dynamics in a small African carnivore, the genet. There are two host institutions in Kenya: Karatina University under the sponsorship of Dr. Paul Webala and the University of Nairobi under the sponsorship of Dr. David Odongo. Training goals include learning analytical methods for studies in parasite ecology and career development activities. Educational outreach includes a network of U.S. and African scientists interested in understanding the role of wildlife in disease transmission in East Africa. This fellowship is supported by both the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Office of International and Integrative Activities at NSF. The research examines how the cat-like, mammalian carnivores known as genets, Genetta spp., mesocarnivores of the family Viverridae, respond to different land use practices and interact with local communities and their associated domestic animals such as cattle and dogs. Specifically, the goal is to understand how these interactions affect the genets' health and parasite loads, which could have ramifications for parasite transmission dynamics to both humans and other wildlife species. Given the abundance of small carnivores, e.g., raccoons, skunks, red foxes, and their important roles in disease dynamics in other rural systems, results from this study, using a model organism, provide information useful for managing parasites and diseases that pose a risk to both humans and domestic animals inhabiting other rural systems worldwide. In East Africa, where local people living in close proximity to diverse wildlife communities depend heavily on livestock, land-use practices could result in changes to parasite communities of local wildlife by altering host density, physiology, and contact rates with domestic animals.