Our new research, “Infection profiles in a wild rat-protozoan network are shaped by host traits and environmental factors”, is now available on EcoEvoRxiv!

In this study, we show that individual hosts differ in consistent and predictable ways in their parasite infection profiles, with important consequences for transmission dynamics and spillover risk. Using network modeling and machine learning on black rats sampled across Madagascar, our students identify three distinct infection profiles that reflect different roles in parasite transmission. Host traits such as body mass and microbiome composition were substantially more informative than environmental factors in predicting these profiles. Our results highlight infection profiles as a powerful lens for understanding host-parasite dynamics and improving risk prediction at human–animal interfaces.

Read the full paper here: EcoEvoRxiv