Biosciences Seminar Series - Spring 2019
09 May 2019 - 1pm - Zoology Museum
Disease spread in times of global change - the importance of community ecology
Dr Konstans Wells
Our Biosciences Seminar Series continues for the spring term with a talk by Dr Konstans Wells from our Department of Biosciences at Swansea University. Konstans recently joined our Department - he is an ecologist and a modeller, broadly interested on the consequences of environmental change on biodiversity. He is in particular focussing on wildlife, invasive species and host-parasite interactions, looking at demographic and epidemiological dynamics, species range dynamics and bio-geographic patterns, with the aim to identify key processes for optimizing conservation and pest control efforts and the prevention of disease spread, under different environmental scenarios and policy schemes.
Abstract
Pathogens that are capable of infecting multiple host species play a dominant role in the myriads of infectious diseases affecting humans and animals. But how do parasites actually spread among hosts and spill-over from one species to another? In practice, many of us are well aware that humans share not only a long history of companionship but also a diversity of parasites with dogs, perhaps more than with our closest primate relatives. There seems to be a lack of consensus, however, in how far host-parasite co-evolutionary history versus arising ecological opportunity drives parasite spread. In this seminar I invite discussion of concepts and tools that may help us to tackle such challenge.
Hope to see many of you - everyone most welcome to attend!
For the list of forthcoming seminars see here
For the list of forthcoming seminars see here
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