Hi,
I've had great response to my post on ecology topics with a strong
linkage to human health. Based on the response, there are many of us
teaching ecology to audiences with similar perspectives. I've grouped the
responses below more or less by topic area. For most of these, the examples
could be used to introduce many interweaving aspects of ecology and could be
useful as case studies to highlight several concepts. I'd love to hear more
stories about lectures/approaches folks have used to connect ecology to
aspects of human health or other ideas folks have.
Thank you to everyone for all of your help!
Cheers,
Cheryl Schultz
Ecology and contaminants (PCBs, DDT, mercury, etc)
- abiotic effects on the environment
- how chemicals/nutrients cycle through the environment
- food webs, cascading effects and bioaccumulation
- DDT story in terms of how data on egg-shell thinning (ie direct
effects and ecological data on fecundity reduction as a result) gave rise to
the knowledge that chemicals in the environment can have catastrophic health
effects
- Feminization of embryos by chemicals
- Toxins in the arctic and influence on peoples with a high dependence
on subsistence hunting/fishing
- Implications of breastfeeding to offload toxins from the mother -
reference to a story that for seals in the Aleutians the first pup dies and
the 2nd survives because the mom's milk has more toxins while lactating the
1st.
Ecological effects of climate change and effects on human health (numerous
responses here)
- climate and cholera (see Rita Colwell's lab for more info)
- effects of climate change on microorganism distribution
- climate change and disease spread
Lyme disease story
- food webs (interactions of mice, deer, acorns, gypsy moths and lyme
disease); see Ostfield et al 1996 BioScience paper for good discussion
- also interactions with forest fragmentation
- use as story in the 1st lecture to show how the complexity of
ecological connections dictate disease dynamics
- website "Overcoming Ecological Misconceptions" includes a lot of
detail on using the "Power of Story" approach to using this case study (the
Eastern Deciduous Forest) as a way to introduce several ecological concepts:
http://ecomisconceptions.binghamton.edu/intro.htm
Host-parasite relationship
Mosquitos as vectors
- lab by putting out simple breeding containers (plastic cups on posts)
around campus to look for mosquito breeding and increase in mosquito vectors
Other disease stories
- plague transmission and prairie dogs
- invasive species as vectors for emerging diseases
- history of the human population and impact of disease on the
trajectory; can also be demonstrated in a lab with cemetery data if there is
a long enough time course and enough samples to include the civil war, WW
II, etc.
- use disease spread stories as a way to motivate interest in
dispersal biology
- plague story as an intro to the course or intro to population
dynamics
Evolution and Human Health
- article by David Hillis
- evolution of pest species and human health
Other references/weblinks that were recommended
- Harvard's Center for Health and the Global Environment
http://chge.med.harvard.edu/
- Biography of Rene Dubos: Friend of the Good Earth by Carol Moberg
- Environmental Health journals such as "Environmental Health Perspectives"
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Cheryl B. Schultz
Assistant Professor
School of Biological Sciences
Washington State University Vancouver
14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98686
Office: 360-546-9525 Lab: 360-546-9082
Fax: 360-546-9064
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/sci/schultz.html
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