Semester Overview and Summation

12/16/11

During the course of this semester I undertook a Directed Readings Seminar with two members of the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. James Umbanhowar and Dr. Charles E. Mitchell. Under their guidance and direction I critically examined approximately two sources of literature from the field ecology each week, wrote a combination objective and subjective blog about each, and then met with one of my advisors to discuss the work and its context within the larger field of ecology. The blogs for these papers are given as a transcript below, however the original sources can be found at the website address given in the title of this report.

The range of topics covered stayed mainly within the fields of invasive species ecology and disease ecology, from which both theoretical and experimental studies were analyzed. Generally, the method of article choice for the following week was based on intriguing topics that were embedded in the current weeks’ discussion. We began with an overview of the models used to map the spread of invasive species over time and space. From here we were able to expand into a variety of different types of models used in the ecological sciences, including traveling waves, stratified diffusion, and even the classic SIR models (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered). Several case studies were analyzed for classic epidemiological cases, including measles, Dutch Elm Disease, conjunctivitis of birds in the northeastern United States, influenza, and cholera.

From the experimentally-based literature sources we covered a variety of system choices and pathogen types. Marine diversity of pathogens and their relevance to the resource cycling of primary producers was looked at, along with the interaction of different kinds of pathogens within a single host, whether that host population was buffalo herds from Africa, or bacteria in culture.  We also spent some time investigating the role of lifestyle choices in viruses, whether a lytic (kill first) or lysogenic (incorporate into host genome) lifestyle could be favored in certain environments over others. We ended the semester with an exploration of the role of certain kinds of nutrients on pathogen dynamics.

In summation, a broad range of topics was covered during the course of this seminar. The subject material was chosen from both subfields of invasion and disease ecology. For the most part however, the string of literature sources was woven together from week to week to allow flexibility in topic choice, but also to allow growth and exploration of the more difficult questions presented within the ecological sciences.