Animal behavior plays a central role in the transmission of parasites and pathogens. Likewise, parasites are crucial drivers of animal behavior. Over the past few decades, disease ecology has been one of the fastest growing sub-disciplines of ecology. Importantly, animal behaviorists have played a crucial role in developing some fundamental ideas that impinge on this field. Building on a number of theoretical and technical advances throughout the last decade, we will host a symposium on Animal Behavior and Disease Ecology: Past, Present, and Future at the 2014 Animal Behavior Society meeting to bring together traditional animal behaviorists and disease ecologists interested in behavior to explore emerging topics and points of synthesis between the two fields.
The symposium will identify important new research directions at the interface of animal behavior and disease ecology including the ways in which behavior affects host exposure and susceptibility to infection and parasite transmission dynamics, as well as means by which parasites shape patterns of animal behavior in both ecological and evolutionary time. It will provide a platform for professional development outreach to graduate and undergraduate students attending the meeting. Outreach activities will provide students with information on how to get started in research that combines behavior with disease ecology, and provide a venue for students to make connections with experts whose work firmly integrates the two fields.
