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Viral Community Assembly In Puerto Rican Bats, Anna Sjodin

Doctoral Dissertations

Viruses are the most abundant biological entity on Earth, yet little is known about the factors driving their abundance, frequency of occurrence, and distribution in non-human hosts. Most emerging infectious diseases of humans originate in wildlife, up to a quarter of which are caused by viruses, creating an urgent need to broaden understanding of viral systems. With its theoretical depth, ecology can provide mechanistic insights about viral diversity, with broad implications for public health and wildlife conservation. Unfortunately, few datasets exist that allow a thorough exploration of viral ecology, and the process of defining viral species can prohibit timely conclusions. …