Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/R012237/1
NPIF allocation: Interactions between ageing and disease in a wild social mammal, the European badger
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Dr AJ Young, University of Exeter, Biosciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Exeter, Biosciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Science Topics:
- Animal behaviour
- Animal diseases
- Animal organisms
- Immunology
- Abstract:
- Late-life declines in components of fitness, termed ageing, are pervasive in human and wild animal populations, but the causes of the often marked variation among individuals in ageing rates remain poorly understood. One potentially important mechanism is the interaction between ageing and exposure to disease. Biomedical studies have highlighted that agerelated declines in immune system function can leave older individuals more susceptible to infection and disease progression, and that chronic infection can itself accelerate the ageing process. Moreover, where older parents provide poorer quality care to offspring, there is potential for transgenerational effects of parental age on the disease susceptibility and ageing rates of offspring. However, such interactions between ageing and disease remain virtually unexplored in wild animal populations, despite their implications for our understanding of both individual variation in ageing rates and wildlife disease dynamics. This project will address this critical shortfall in our understanding using data from a 40-year longitudinal field study of the life-histories and disease (bovine tuberculosis) dynamics of more than 30 social groups of wild European badgers.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/R012237/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- NPIF Allocation
This training grant award has a total value of £88,959
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - RTSG | Total - Student Stipend |
|---|---|---|
| £17,295 | £11,000 | £60,664 |
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