Understanding the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases in mammalian mating and social systems

Variation in animal mating and social behavior has important consequences for the origin and persistence of infectious diseases. These behavioral processes determine local host density and govern the type and frequency of contacts that occur within and among groups of animals. Ecologists have made great progress in understanding infectious disease dynamics operating on ecological time scales, yet next to nothing is known about patterns of disease at broad evolutionary scales. Given the increasing availability of information on socio-ecological parameters and disease in wild populations, along with robust phylogenies, the time is right to integrate efforts across these levels of analysis. Thus, our interdisciplinary working group will coordinate empirical and theoretical approaches to investigate how host social organization and mating behavior affect the maintenance and spread of infectious diseases in mammals. We will use large datasets and phylogenies in three groups of mammals, primates, ungulates, and carnivores, to conduct phylogenetically controlled comparative studies and formulate predictive models of the consequences of variation in socio-ecological parameters for disease risk. Simultaneously, we will use computer simulations and population modeling techniques to generate predictions that can be examined with the comparative data. By filling the enormous gaps in our knowledge regarding the links between disease and mating and social systems, our study will identify key factors responsible for the dynamics and evolution of infectious diseases in animal populations.