PARENT SESSION
Poster Session # 12: Ecotoxicology, Pathogens, and Disease.
Tuesday, August 5 Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. SITCC Exhibit Hall B.
A hierarchical habitat selection analysis of claims that Hantavirus host rodents are asymptomatic.
McIntyre, Nancy*,1, Nisbett, Richard1, Abuzeineh, Alisa1, Chu, Yong-kyu2, Dick, Carl1, Holsomback, Tyla1, Houck, Marilyn1, Jonsson, Colleen2, 1 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA2 New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
ABSTRACT- Although host rodents infected with Hantavirus have been shown to be indistinguishable from uninfected animals in terms of longevity, growth rates, fitness, and health, natural selection (from a viral standpoint) should favor differences in the behavioral ecology of infected and uninfected animals in such a way to facilitate viral transmission. However, the behavioral consequences of infection with Hantavirus have not previously been examined. We therefore conducted a study in which habitat use by the marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris, primary host for the Bayou strain of Hantavirus) was compared at multiple spatial scales between Hantavirus-positive and uninfected animals, and these patterns were further compared to habitat availability. Results to date show that there is significant habitat selection by marsh rice rats in terms of both macro- and micro-habitats (i.e., habitat types are not used simply in proportion to their availability). Although rates of seroprevalence differed significantly between macrohabitat types, these differences were a function of host density. Furthermore, microhabitat selection did not differ between seropositive and seronegative animals. Our study thus provides corroboration for claims that, with regard to habitat requirements, Hantavirus-infected rodents are apparently indistinguishable from uninfected individuals.
Key words: Oryzomys palustris, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, habitat selection, behavior