ral America, leads to more productive marsh habitat for a particular species of mosquito. Anopheles vestitipennis is a more efficient malaria vector than another type of mosquito which does not fare as well with this land use change. As a result, this development can be expected to lead to a higher malaria risk for people living in proximity to the impacted marshes.

Thomas Unnasch, of the University of Alabama--Birmingham, will discuss research undertaken in 2001 during outbreaks of Eastern Equine encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus which, taken together, seem to suggest that forest fragmentation and increases in the populations of the Brown-headed Cowbird may increase the potential for future outbreaks.

Focusing on the Henipavirus outbreaks that emerged in Australia and Malaysia in the 1990s, Peter Dazak, of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, will explore how recent changes in land use, climate, and bat migration may have driven the deadly outbreaks. In particular, Dazak's work will highlight the double impact some human activities may be causing: reducing available wildlife habitat and increasing transmission of microbes between species.

Other speakers include symposium co-organizer Chris Ray, Robert Holt of the University of Florida--Gainesville, Richard Ostfeld, of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, and Charles Mitchell of Cornell University.

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Contact: Annie Drinkard
annie@esa.org
Ecological Society of America
4-Aug-2003


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