Biology Biology Monday Seminar: "Environmental Change Shapes Host Defenses Against Parasites"

Dr. Sarah Knutie is an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut. The overarching theme of her seminar explores how animal hosts defend themselves against parasites, particularly in response to environmental change. First, she will present her research on the effect of the introduced parasitic nest fly Philornis downsi on birds in the Galapagos, how birds defend themselves against P. downsi, and a method ("self-fumigation") she established for controlling the fly in a bird nest. Second, she will describe the role of host-associated gut microbiota in disease ecology of frogs and, in particular, whether early-life microbiota of hosts mediate the effect of environmental factors, such as pollutants, on later-life resistance to infections.