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The Influence of Heterogeneous Landscapes on Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo) Behavior in Northern Botswana: Inferences about Infectious Disease Transmission

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dc.contributor.authorNichols, Carol Anneen
dc.contributor.committeechairAlexander, Kathleen A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberFrimpong, Emmanuel A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberWalters, Jeffrey R.en
dc.contributor.departmentFish and Wildlife Conservationen
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-05T07:01:09Zen
dc.date.available2019-12-05T07:01:09Zen
dc.date.issued2018-06-12en
dc.description.abstractInfectious disease transmission is driven by a complex suite of drivers with behavior and landscape dynamics contributing to epidemics across host-pathogen systems. However, our understanding of the interaction between landscape, behavior, and infectious disease remains limited. In the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), a novel tuberculosis pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi, has emerged in Northern Botswana that is transmitted through olfactory communication behaviors. Using this host-pathogen system, this thesis explores the influence of various land use areas along the human-wildlife interface on animal behavior, and ultimately, pathogen transmission potential. Using behavior data from remote sensing camera traps, a generalized linear mixed model identified vigilance behavior, land use, and their interaction as important factors in predicting olfactory behavior. Cluster and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis of active den sites (n= 308, across 23 troops) identified the important characteristics of dens across land use areas. In human-modified environments, man-made den sites persisted longer than did natural dens which became unsuitable through environmental processes (e.g., collapse). We also document the occurrence of nighttime activity for this species, perceived to be strictly diurnal. These data provide information critical to the development of robust computational models and underscore the importance of both landscape and behavior in accurately predicting and managing infectious disease outbreaks.en
dc.description.degreeM. S.en
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:15682en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/95936en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectUrbanizationen
dc.subjectpathogen transmissionen
dc.subjecttuberculosisen
dc.subjectwildlife diseaseen
dc.subjectlife historyen
dc.subjectolfactory communicationen
dc.subjectden resourcesen
dc.titleThe Influence of Heterogeneous Landscapes on Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo) Behavior in Northern Botswana: Inferences about Infectious Disease Transmissionen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineFisheries and Wildlife Scienceen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameM. S.en

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