Adelman James S, Moyers Sahnzi C, Hawley Dana M
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Derring Hall, Room 4020A (MC 0406), 1405 Perry Street, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Derring Hall, Room 4020A (MC 0406), 1405 Perry Street, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Integr Comp Biol. 2014 Sep;54(3):377-86. doi: 10.1093/icb/icu088. Epub 2014 Jun 20.
Despite the ubiquity of parasites and pathogens, behavioral and physiological responses to infection vary widely across individuals. Although such variation can have pronounced effects on population-level processes, including the transmission of infectious disease, the study of individual responses to infection in free-living animals remains a challenge. To fully understand the causes and consequences of heterogeneous responses to infection, research in ecoimmunology and disease-ecology must incorporate minimally invasive techniques to track individual animals in natural settings. Here, we review how several technologies, collectively termed remote biomonitoring, enable the collection of data on behavioral and physiological responses to infection in small, free-living animals. Specifically, we focus on the use of radiotelemetry and radio-frequency identification to study fever, sickness-behaviors (including lethargy and anorexia), and rates of inter-individual contact in the wild, all of which vary widely across individuals and impact the spread of pathogens within populations. In addition, we highlight future avenues for field studies of these topics using emerging technologies such as global positioning system tracking and tri-axial accelerometry. Through the use of such remote biomonitoring techniques, researchers can gain valuable insights into why responses to infection vary so widely and how this variation impacts the spread and evolution of infectious diseases.
尽管寄生虫和病原体无处不在，但个体对感染的行为和生理反应却存在很大差异。虽然这种差异会对包括传染病传播在内的种群水平过程产生显著影响，但研究自由生活动物对感染的个体反应仍是一项挑战。为了全面了解对感染的异质反应的原因和后果，生态免疫学和疾病生态学的研究必须采用微创技术来追踪自然环境中的个体动物。在这里，我们回顾了几种统称为远程生物监测的技术如何能够收集小型自由生活动物对感染的行为和生理反应数据。具体来说，我们重点关注使用无线电遥测和射频识别技术来研究野外的发热、疾病行为（包括嗜睡和厌食）以及个体间接触率，所有这些在个体间差异很大，并影响病原体在种群中的传播。此外，我们强调了使用全球定位系统跟踪和三轴加速度计等新兴技术对这些主题进行实地研究的未来途径。通过使用此类远程生物监测技术，研究人员可以深入了解为什么对感染的反应差异如此之大，以及这种差异如何影响传染病的传播和进化。
