Sonia Altizer

Associate Professor

Odum School of Ecology

University of Georgia

Athens, GA 30602 USA

saltizer@uga.edu
Telephone: 706-542-9251
Fax: 706-542-4819

I received my bachelor’s degree in Biology from Duke University in 1992, and my doctoral degree in Ecology from the University of Minnesota in 1998. After postdoctoral positions at Princeton University and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and a faculty position at Emory University from 2001-2005, my lab and I moved to the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia!

As a scientist, I am captivated by the diversity of pathogens that persist in wild animal populations, and my research concerns the ecological and genetic interactions between hosts and parasites. I use a combination of field studies, experiments, models and comparative approaches to understand variation in epidemiological patterns within and among populations. Current work and future plans fall along three lines of research, including (1) field, laboratory and modeling studies of monarch butterflies and their interactions with an neogregarine protozoan parasite, (2) comparative studies of global patterns of disease occurrence in primates, carnivores and ungulates, and (3) field studies of avian-pathogen interactions. Weaving these studies together is the common question of 'what mechanisms generate variation in disease risk over time and space in different animal-pathogen systems?' Below you will find a summary of my research projects (including funding sources and collaborations), a recent CV and list of publications, and courses taught.

Research Projects  

1) Monarch butterfly ecology and interactions with a protozoan parasite

My work with monarchs has focused on two main areas – the ecological and evolutionary consequences of long-distance migration for host-parasite interactions, and geographic variation among monarch butterflies in different parts of their worldwide range. In addition, a graduate student in my lab (Elizabeth Lindsey) explored the environmental and genetic determinants of monarch butterfly resistance to O. elekstroscirrha. A second graduate student (Catherine Bradley) completed a project examining the effects of parasite infection on flight ability in captive butterflies. A postdoctoral researcher (Jaap de Roode) examined evolutionary determinants of parasite virulence within and among populations. Finally, together with Andy Davis and other and researchers in my lab, I examined geographic variation in wing morphology (size, shape and color),  host plant use (female preference and larval development), and response to thermal stress among monarch butterfly populations within North America. 

Link for this project:  Monarch Parasites on the web, and the Monarch Health science project!      

2) Ecology and evolution of infectious diseases in mammalian mating and social systems

In collaboration with Charlie Nunn (at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and UC Berkeley) and scientists from 7 different institutions, I studied the association between behavioral and ecological traits of mammals and the diversity and characteristics of their parasites and infectious diseases. Questions we have examined with large comparative databases and theoretical models of disease spread include: How does the diversity of parasites and infectious diseases vary among mammals in relation to their social behavior, life histories, diet, and  habitat use? Do pathogen characteristics, such as specificity and transmission mode, covary with host social and mating systems? Under what conditions will pathogens influence the evolution of host social behavior, and vice versa?  Do the diversity and characteristics of parasites differ between threatened and non-threatened mammal species?

3) Ecology of songbird-parasite interactions

From 2001-2005, I was involved in a collaborative project centered at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to investigate the spread of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, an emerging bacterial eye disease infecting North American house finches. This study was funded in part through an NIH/NSF "Ecology of Infectious Disease" award to Dr. Andre Dhondt at Cornell University. My main interests focused on factors driving spatial and temporal variation in prevalence, particularly the regular seasonal outbreaks of disease . Because disease prevalence peaks during the winter months when finches form flocks and depend heavily on bird feeders, we examined the interactions between seasonal changes in host age structure, behavior, immune function, condition, and susceptibility to conjunctivitis.  More recently, graduate student Cat Bradley has investigated the role of urbanization in the transmission and fitness effects of multiple parasites in their wild songbird hosts.

• Bradley , C.A. , Gibbs, S.E.J., and Altizer, S. 2008. Urban land use predicts West Nile Virus exposure in songbirds. Ecological Applications. 18: 1083-1092.

• De Roode, J.C .,Yates, A.J. and Altizer, S. 2008. Virulence-transmission trade-offs and population divergence in virulence in a naturally occurring butterfly parasite. PNAS. 105: 7489-7494.

• De Roode, J.C ., Pedersen, A.P., Hunter. M. and Altizer, S. 2008. Host plant species affects virulence in monarch butterfly parasites. Journal of Animal Ecology. 77: 120-126.

• Pedersen, A.B ., Jones, K., Nunn, C.L. and Altizer, S. 2007. Infectious diseases and extinction risk in wild mammals. Conservation Biology. 21: 1269-79.

• De Roode, J.C., Gold, L.R. and Altizer, S. 2007. Virulence determinants in a natural butterfly-parasite system. Parasitology, 134: 657-68.

• Bradley , C.A . and Altizer, S. 2007. Urbanization and the ecology of wildlife diseases. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 22(2): 95-102.

• Altizer, S., Nunn, C.L. and Lindenfors, P. 2007. Do threatened hosts have fewer parasites? A comparative study in primates. Journal of Animal Ecology, 76: 304-314

• Nunn, C.L. and Altizer, S. 2006. Infectious Diseases in Primates: Behavior, Ecology and Evolution. Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution (Oxford University Press). PDF of cover proof

• Altizer, S., Dobson, A.P., Hosseini, P., Hudson, P.J., Pascual, M. and Rohani, P. 2006. Seasonality and the dynamics of infectious diseases. Ecology Letters, 9: 467-484. PDF file

• Bradley, C.A. and Altizer, S. 2005. Parasites hinder monarch butterfly flight: implications for disease spread in migratory hosts. Ecology Letters. 8: 290-300. PDF file

• Altizer, S., Hochachka, W., and Dhondt, A. 2004. Seasonal dynamics of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in eastern North American House Finches. Journal of Animal Ecology. 73(2): 309-322. PDF file

• Altizer, S., Davis, A.K., Cook, K.C., and Cherry, J.J. 2004.  Age, sex and season affect the risk of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in a southeastern House Finch population. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 82: 755-763. PDF file

• Altizer, S., Harvell, C.D., and Friedle, E.  2003.  Rapid evolutionary dynamics and disease threats to biodiversity.  Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 18(11): 589-596  PDF file

• Altizer, S., Nunn, C., Thrall, P., Gittleman, J., Ezenwa, V., Pulliam, J., Pedersen, A., Dobson, A., Poss, M., Cunningham, A., Antonovics, J., and Jones, K. 2003.  Social organization and disease risk in mammals: integrating theory and empirical studies.  Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.  34:517-47. PDF file

• Nunn, C.L., Altizer, S.M., Jones, K.E., and Sechrest, W.  2003. Comparative tests of parasite species richness in primates.  American Naturalist. 162(5): 597-614. PDF file.

• Harvell, D., Mitchell, C.E., Ward, J.R., Altizer, S., Dobson, A., Ostfeld, R.S., and Samuels, M.D. 2002. Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota. Science. 296: 2158-2162. PDF file

• Altizer, S.M. 2001. Migratory behaviour and host-parasite co-evolution in natural populations of monarch butterflies infected with a protozoan parasite. Evolutionary Ecology Research. 3: 611-632. PDF file

• Altizer, S.M., Oberhauser, K.S. and Brower, L.P.  2000.  Associations between host migration and the prevalence of a protozoan parasite in natural populations of monarch butterflies. Ecological Entomology.  25: 125-139. PDF file

• Click here for full CV and publications

August 2007 (from left: Jamie Winternitz, Ernie Osburn, Julie Rushmore, Shan Huan, Jaap de Roode, Charles Decurtis, Byron Ledbetter, JR McMillan, Samantha Burton. Front row: Sonia Altizer, Rachel Rarick, Jean Chi. Not shown: Daniel Streicker, Catherine Bradley, Elizabeth Lindsey)

Click here for a current description of staff and students in the Altizer Lab

Information for Students

Courses Taught

Courses at University of Georgia (2005-present):

ECOL 8990 Graduate seminar in the ecology of infectious diseases (co-taught with Dr. Pej Rohani)

ECOL 4000/6000: Population and Community Ecology

ECOL 1000: Ecological Basis for Environmental Issues

ECOL 4150: Population Biology of Infectious Diseases

Undergraduate courses taught at Emory (2001-2005):

ENVS/BIOL 345: Conservation Biology and Biodiversity

ENVS 349: Ecology of Species Invasions

ENVS 385(a): Population Ecology

ENVS 385(b): Insect Ecology and Conservation

ENVS 132: Integrative Methods in Environmental Studies  

Field courses: Ecology of Wildlife Diseases (taught at Mountain Lake Biological Station, University of Virginia , Summer 2000, 2005, 2008)  

Photo of Wildlife Disease Ecology Class:  Summer 2005