Biology Weekly Seminar - Ben Bolker

Eco-evolutionary dynamics of virulence: the devil is still in the details

The ideas that (1) pathogen virulence (the harm done by the pathogen to its host) is an evolved trait that can be explained by evolutionary theory, and (2) virulence can evolve significantly over the course of a single epidemic ("transient" or "eco-evolutionary" dynamics), have gained both theoretical and empirical support in the last several decades. Biologists thus hope that these ideas can be applied in practical contexts to forecast and, hopefully, manage the evolution of virulence.