Virus Transmission in Pumas

Pumas, while widespread across the U.S., are solitary animals, and there is little known about how diseases can move through a population. MSI PI Meggan Craft (associate professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior) led a recent study that investigated the transmission of a common virus, feline immunodeficiency virus, using DNA analysis. The 10-year study examined populations in two regions, one where hunting had been reinstated after a being banned for five years, and one where there was less hunting. The researchers discovered that transmission dynamics changed based on the amount of hunting in the region. The research is featured in a recent U of M Research Brief: Hunting Alters Virus Evolution and Transmission in Pumas.

The paper can be found on the website of the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution: Hunting Alters Viral Transmission and Evolution in a Large Carnivore.

Professor Craft uses MSI resources for several projects that study the ecology of infectious diseases, including one on the spread of COVID-19.