Publication Date
2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Committee Members
Jeffrey L. Peters, Ph.D. (Advisor); Paula Bubulya, Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Quan Zhong, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael Leffak, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Oleg Paliy, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Abstract
Birds are major vectors and reservoir hosts of pathogens across our globe. Pathogens can be spread through the dispersal and seasonal movements of migratory and resident wild birds. Although biogeographic barriers have the potential to restrict completely or in part gene flow in wild birds, variation in ecological drivers of dispersal likely influences the effectiveness of these barriers amongst different species. This dissertation seeks to enhance our knowledge of Southern Hemisphere waterfowl species’ dispersal, population genomics, and disease ecology using population genomic techniques (double-digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq)) and multi-variate statistics. First, we investigated the roles of dispersal behavior and biogeographic barriers in genetically structuring populations of four species of Australasian waterfowl. Additionally, we explored host-parasite theory by comparing the genetic structure of a southern African waterfowl population and its Plasmodium parasite. Next, we identified genomic regions associated with Plasmodium infection in waterfowl using traditional and novel computational methods. Finally, we performed a meta-analysis to create a linear model to explain variation in Plasmodium infection rates in birds using host demographic variables on a global scale. The knowledge gained from this dissertation benefits research in the public health, agriculture, and wildlife management fields.
Page Count
218
Department or Program
Biomedical Sciences
Year Degree Awarded
2020
Copyright
Copyright 2020, all rights reserved. My ETD will be available under the "Fair Use" terms of copyright law.
