Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/R005141/1
Parasite transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface and its implications for management - a pilot study of an African savanna ecosystem
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr J Bro-Jorgensen, University of Liverpool, Institute of Integrative Biology
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr FF Kenyon, Moredun Research Institute, Disease Control
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor A Fenton, University of Liverpool, Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour
- Grant held at:
- University of Liverpool, Institute of Integrative Biology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- Modelling behaviour
- Social behaviour
- Animal behaviour
- Anthelmintics
- Disease control (animals)
- Disease transmission
- Animal diseases
- Disease modelling (animals)
- Host-pathogen interactions
- Infection
- Parasitic diseases
- Livestock management
- Livestock production
- Conservation Ecology
- Community structure
- Biodiversity
- Ecosystem function
- Evolutionary ecology
- Evolutionary processes
- Habitat use
- Host-parasite relations
- Invasive species
- Population Ecology
- Abstract:
- As Africa's human population continues to grow exponentially, the proportion of the continent's land surface impacted by extensive farming practices is rapidly increasing. Therefore, understanding the ecological dynamics at the interface between agricultural production systems and wilderness areas is becoming ever more important. A main concern in this regard is disease transmission between wild and domestic herbivores. With funding from the International Opportunities Fund, we will establish an international team of experts aiming to tackle these challenges using a multi-disciplinary approach involving the end users. This proposal focuses on the ubiquitous gastro-intestinal helminth infections which are associated with both significant losses to livestock production and concerns about interference with natural ecological processes in areas of conservation value. Specifically, we wish to seize an opportunity to extend a collaboration between UK scientists and expertise in veterinary science at Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) which has emerged during current NERC-funded research activities. For this purpose, we will implement a collaborative pilot project which would pave the way for a long-term research partnership. The project will collect data on infection rates in livestock and coexisting wild ungulates from our established savanna study system, allowing us to test our novel theoretical framework for understanding the roles of individual host species in the persistence of selected model parasite species. The wider aim is to obtain proof of concept on the basis of which we can apply for large scale funding. End-user involvement in project design is ensured by hosting scoping workshops. The long-term goal of the research collaboration is to provide recommendations for adaptive management of livestock in natural savanna ecosystems on a scientific basis, thereby simultaneously improving human welfare and supporting biodiversity conservation. The project moreover adds value to our current NERC-funded research on the ecological drivers of mixed-species group formation among savanna herbivores by allowing us to estimate costs from parasite transmission in our multi-layered social network analysis.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/R005141/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed (RP) - NR1
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- IOF
This grant award has a total value of £40,487
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £21,021 | £5,259 | £7,188 | £1,671 | £5,240 | £109 |
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