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THE COST OF AN EMERGING DISEASE: MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAEINFECTION ALTERS METABOLIC RATE OF THE NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO ( DASYPUS NOVEMCINCTUS)

Steuber, Jarod Gregory
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1195236347

Abstract Details

2007, Master of Science, University of Akron, Biology.
Emerging diseases could radically alter the energy budget of an organism and hence redefine the response of a host to its environmental stressors. The window of opportunity to study diseases as they emerge within animal populations is small relative to the time available for the study of established diseases. Therefore, the consequences of novel pathogens on the ecological dynamics of animals are less well understood. During the process of a northward range expansion, the nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus) has acquired a human pathogen, Mycobacterium leprae, which may alter its ecological dynamics. This study investigates the cost of this pathogen on its host. Basal metabolic rates (BMR) from infected and uninfected individuals were measured to test for a cost of the disease that may in turn alter the dynamics of the species in its new environment. Comparison of BMR between infected and disease-free D. novemcinctusindicates that there is a significant metabolic cost of carrying the disease (p = 0.0145). BMR increased 23.9% in infected individuals. Such a large metabolic cost is not usually seen in pathogens that have co-eveolved with their hosts. This is likely to have a considerable effect on the animals’ energy budget, potentially altering individuals’ dispersal, reproductive effort, and also foraging behavior. Such changes would influence dynamics not just at the individual level, but also the species’ ecological limits and hence its range expansion.
Francisco Moore (Advisor)
armadillo; leprosy; metabolic rate; emerging disease

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Steuber, J. G. (2007). THE COST OF AN EMERGING DISEASE: MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAEINFECTION ALTERS METABOLIC RATE OF THE NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO ( DASYPUS NOVEMCINCTUS) [Master's thesis, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1195236347

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Steuber, Jarod. THE COST OF AN EMERGING DISEASE: MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAEINFECTION ALTERS METABOLIC RATE OF THE NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO ( DASYPUS NOVEMCINCTUS). 2007. University of Akron, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1195236347.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Steuber, Jarod. "THE COST OF AN EMERGING DISEASE: MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAEINFECTION ALTERS METABOLIC RATE OF THE NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO ( DASYPUS NOVEMCINCTUS)." Master's thesis, University of Akron, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1195236347

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2007, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Akron and OhioLINK.