TAHUB-104 - El impacto de la urbanización sobre la i

Urban environments are expanding faster than any other land cover type and now support the majority of the world's human population. This urban development is associated with marked ecological and biodiversity changes, however recent evidence suggests that these human-altered landscapes play a key role in the emergence of wildlife diseases and zoonoses too. This proposal will investigate, for the first time, general (continental-scale) patterns regarding the effects that the urbanization process can have on the immune system (of non-humans), one of the most important defenses of animals against diseases and parasites. In addition to the host immune response, Iintend to measure vector host selection and co-infection to investigate whether urban habitats can exert a differential selective pressure for the immune system of birds. The methodology proposed involves the use of standard and new techniques to quantify the immune function, physiological stress, as well as genetic methods to determine parasite (i.e. West Nile Virus) infestation. My previous knowledge of urban ecology and endocrinology, the expertise in immunology of the foreign host group (Prof. B.I. Tieleman) of the University of Groningen, in addition to the expertise in wildlife diseases/parasitology of the Andalusian host group (Dr. J. Figuerola) of the Estación Biológica de Doñana support the feasibility of the project. The findings of this proposal will not only advance in critical areas of several research fields like global change biology, eco-physiology or evolution, but also provide much needed information that would help design policies to fight against emerging wildlife diseases that can have severe consequences into humans' health and economics