91´«Ã½

Last week, senior researcher Dana Calhoun attended the annual American Society of Parasitologists (ASP) meeting and presented some of the lab's current research. 

The first presentation, titled "The perfect storm: Using camera traps, dissections, and precipitation to understand parasite epizootics" described the methods used to explore extreme trematode infections in Boulder ponds between 2022 and 2025. During this period, severe limb malformations caused by Ribeiroia ondatrae were observed in metamorphosing northern leopard frogs, and extreme Clinostomum marginatum infections were recorded in larval tiger salamanders. Snail dissections provided quantifiable data about infection prevalence, while camera trapping data allowed for analysis of local definitive vertebrate hosts. It was determined that there was a limited relationship between host visitation rates and parasite prevalence, but precipitation was found to have a negative correlation with infection rates. This research emphasizes the importance of comprehensive analysis of both hosts and the environment in order to understand transmission dynamics and predict parasite outbreaks.

The second presentation was titled "No Free Ride: Testing migration-parasite hypotheses across a long-distance migrant", and discusses multiple hypotheses that may explain trends in parasite exposure and load among migratory animals, with a focus on the osprey. From 2011-2025, the gastrointestinal tracts of over 300 osprey from wildlife rehabilitation centers and museum collections across the United States were examined for the presence of various parasites. Parasite richness and load varied depending on the migratory flyways (Pacific, Interior, and Atlantic) and the migratory period (early - breeding and pre-breeding; late - post-breeding and non-breeding). This research provides large-scale information about helminth diversity within osprey communities throughout the country.