Contact Information

Office: SCA 322
Phone: 813/974-4694
Email: bsears@mail.usf.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D. Biology, University of South Florida, 2008-Present
B.S. Zoology, University of Florida, 2007

Research

I am primarily interested in disease ecology and host-parasite coevolution. Though parasites are often thought of as highly virulent pathogens that quickly overrun their host, parasites that kill their hosts too rapidly or cause the population to go extinct will not enjoy long-term reproductive success. In response to the risk of disease, the host mounts defenses against infection (resistance) or controlling infections (tolerance), both of which effectively lessen a parasite’s success. In this sense, many host-parasite systems are embroiled in a constant arms race: the parasite adapting to evade its host’s immune system, and the host adapting to escape the parasite’s new offensive tactics. The “Red Queen hypothesis” addresses this very scenario, where the host is “running” from the pathogen that is “chasing” it.

My Ph.D. research proposes to examine the coevolution of host and parasite in large aquatic salamanders, chiefly the two-toed amphiuma, Amphiuma means, and the greater siren, Siren lacertina. These amphibians are common in the southeast United States and can be found throughout Florida. Both species, though only distantly related, undergo aestivation in periods of drought. I plan on examining the parasite fauna of these salamanders and determining whether infection with parasites affects aestivation success; these animals exhaust their fat reserves while aestivating and pathogens could consume even more resources. I am also interested in whether aestivation is an immune adaptation whereby they can clear infections while in a dormant state. Many intestinal parasites simply absorb nutrients from their hosts’ meals, so a parasite in an empty intestine would most likely starve. Finally, have the parasites adapted to cope with their hosts’ behavior? Parasites often have dormant states (like the metacercariae of trematodes) that can remain inert for long periods of time, or eggs that can remain infective for years (like those of Ascaris). I am always excited to work on parasites, and especially excited to work on those of four-foot-long salamanders!