Experimental investigation of alternative transmission functions: Quantitative evidence for the importance of nonlinear transmission dynamics in host-parasite systems

• Published in: The Journal of animal ecology Vol. 87; no. 3; pp. 703 - 715
• Main Authors: Orlofske, Sarah A., Flaxman, Samuel M., Joseph, Maxwell B., Fenton, Andy, Melbourne, Brett A., Johnson, Pieter T. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons Ltd 01.05.2018; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Anesthesia; Animals; Anura; behaviour; Density; Disease control; Disease transmission; epidemiology; Experimental design; Experiments; Host-Parasite Interactions; Infections; infectious disease; macroparasite; mathematical model; Mathematical models; Metacercariae - growth & development; Metacercariae - physiology; Models, Biological; Nonlinear Dynamics; Nonlinear systems; Parasite and Disease Ecology; Parasites; Pathogens; Population Density; Predictions; Ribeiroia ondatrae; Trematoda - growth & development; Trematoda - physiology; Trematode Infections - parasitology; Trematode Infections - transmission; Trematode Infections - veterinary; mathematical model; epidemiology; behaviour; macroparasite; Ribeiroia ondatrae; infectious disease

1. Understanding pathogen transmission is crucial for predicting and managing disease. Nonetheless, experimental comparisons of alternative functional forms of transmission remain rare, and those experiments that are conducted are often not designed to test the full range of possible forms. 2. To di...