Recent changes in climate and human land‐use have resulted in alterations of the geographic range of many species, including human pathogens. Geographic range expansion and population growth of human pathogens increase human disease risk. Relatively little empirical work has investigated the impact of range changes on within‐population variability, a contributor to both colonization success and adaptive potential, during the p...

Experimental infections with different pathogen strains give insight into pathogen life history traits. The purpose of the present study was to compare variation in tissue infection prevalence and spirochete abundance among strains of Borrelia burgdorferi in a rodent host ( Mus musculus , C3H/HeJ). Male and female mice were experimentally infected via tick bite with one of 12 strains. Ear tissue biopsies were taken at days 29,...

Phenology is a fundamental determinant of species distributions, abundances, and interactions. In host–parasite interactions, host phenology can affect parasite fitness due to the temporal constraints it imposes on host contact rates. However, it remains unclear how parasite transmission is shaped by the wide range of phenological patterns observed in nature. We develop a mathematical model of the Lyme disease system to study...

The increasing rate of biological invasions resulting from human transport or human‐mediated changes to the environment has had devastating ecological and public health consequences. The kissing bug, T riatoma infestans , has dispersed through the P eruvian city of A requipa. The biological invasion of this insect has resulted in a public health crisis, putting thousands of residents of this city at risk of infection by T rypa...