{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/136505"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/136505","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Shifting disease dynamics following the invasion of an emerging wildlife pathogen","abstract":"The introduction of pathogens to new regions can have significant impacts to human, agricultural and wildlife health. Introduced pathogens can change and adapt to new hosts (i.e. the species that they infect) and to new habitats. These factors can ultimately influence their impact on host populations over time. Understanding the changes that occur following invasion allows for more effective strategies to conserve threatened species. In my dissertation, I explore an introduced fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in North American bats. My results revealed that species that contribute the most to pathogen transmission (i.e. the spread of pathogen to a new host) are also the species that experience the most severe disease and greatest mortality, which reduces their contribution over time. Additionally, I found that pathogen growth rates and the harm the pathogen causes to hosts has declined since the introduction to North America. I also observed high variation in pathogen growth rates after invasion and found that these were associated with bat population responses. These findings highlight the multiple ways disease processes change following pathogen invasion, which is critical information for effectively allocating resources to species imperiled by infectious diseases.","abstract_html":"The introduction of pathogens to new regions can have significant impacts to human, agricultural and wildlife health. Introduced pathogens can change and adapt to new hosts (i.e. the species that they infect) and to new habitats. These factors can ultimately influence their impact on host populations over time. Understanding the changes that occur following invasion allows for more effective strategies to conserve threatened species. In my dissertation, I explore an introduced fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in North American bats. My results revealed that species that contribute the most to pathogen transmission (i.e. the spread of pathogen to a new host) are also the species that experience the most severe disease and greatest mortality, which reduces their contribution over time. Additionally, I found that pathogen growth rates and the harm the pathogen causes to hosts has declined since the introduction to North America. I also observed high variation in pathogen growth rates after invasion and found that these were associated with bat population responses. These findings highlight the multiple ways disease processes change following pathogen invasion, which is critical information for effectively allocating resources to species imperiled by infectious diseases.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Laggan, Nichole Andrea"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Biological Sciences","degree_department":"Biological Sciences","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Hoyt, Joseph R."],"committee_members":["Duggal, Nisha","Belden, Lisa Kay","Langwig, Kate Elizabeth"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-07-16","date_published":"2025-07-16","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:49Z","subjects":["emerging infectious disease","environmental reservoir","pathogen virulence","wildlife disease ecology","white-nose syndrome","Pseudogymnoascus destructans"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44387"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:44387","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/136505","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Hoyt, Joseph R."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Duggal, Nisha","Belden, Lisa Kay","Langwig, Kate Elizabeth"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Biological Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Laggan, Nichole Andrea"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-17T08:00:32Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-17T08:00:32Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-07-16"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biological Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["emerging infectious disease","environmental reservoir","pathogen virulence","wildlife disease ecology","white-nose syndrome","Pseudogymnoascus destructans"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44387"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/136505"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["The introduction of pathogens to new regions can have significant impacts to human, agricultural and wildlife health. Introduced pathogens can change and adapt to new hosts (i.e. the species that they infect) and to new habitats. These factors can ultimately influence their impact on host populations over time. Understanding the changes that occur following invasion allows for more effective strategies to conserve threatened species. In my dissertation, I explore an introduced fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in North American bats. My results revealed that species that contribute the most to pathogen transmission (i.e. the spread of pathogen to a new host) are also the species that experience the most severe disease and greatest mortality, which reduces their contribution over time. Additionally, I found that pathogen growth rates and the harm the pathogen causes to hosts has declined since the introduction to North America. I also observed high variation in pathogen growth rates after invasion and found that these were associated with bat population responses. 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