September 28, 2023
Amy Hudson to present Division of Biology Seminar
Submitted by Division of Biology
Amy Hudson, research ecologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, will present "A Climate Perspective on Arthropod-Borne Disease Spread Across a Continent," as part of the Division of Biology Seminar Series at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, in 221 Ackert Hall.
As warming global temperatures drive changes in energy distribution and climate at the surface, ecosystems respond. Hudson focuses on the observed effects of climate anomalies on viral arthropod-borne livestock disease spread across the United States and the many pathways those effects may occur. In the years before an outbreak of vesicular stomatitis, or VS, in the U.S., we found regional wet and warm anomalies present in Mexico — some driven by climate teleconnections. To better constrain models of spread, we also focus on disease absence, identifying regional drought events in Colorado as stopping the spread of VS mid-outbreak. Top-down observations of climate effects on disease spread must be paired with bottom-up knowledge of vector capacity and dispersal. Hudson works to incorporate experiments of climate effects on vector capacity with observations of disease, vectors and vector habitat across the landscape — toward delivering forecasts of disease spread for effective management.
If you would like to visit with Hudson, please contact Mark Ungerer at mcungere@k-state.edu. Further information regarding Hudson's work can be found on her website.