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You Can Choose Your Friends But Not Your Parasites

KSMU | By Dr. David Cornelison
Published June 19, 2019 at 9:53 AM CDT
Trees can harbor many parasites.
Ambrose Heron
/
Flickr
Trees can harbor many parasites.
Trees can harbor many parasites.
Credit Ambrose Heron / Flickr
/
Flickr
Trees can harbor many parasites.

As everyone in the Ozarks knows, small animals abound in our environment.  Many of these are mammals and each has an array of parasitic guests on their person.  Sean Maher is a biologist at Missouri State University and he is mapping out the distribution of various animals and their accompanying “bugs” in locales throughout the region.  Through this work, he is correlating environmental characteristics with the populations.  In doing so,  he hopes to learn more about the connections between population size and health with the supporting ecosystem in which the animals live. Biologist Sean Maher discussing different parasites. Prepare to squirm.

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Dr. David Cornelison
Dr. David Cornelison has been working as an educator and scientist in Arizona and Missouri universities for the last 25 years. Since 2010, he has been the head of the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Materials Science at Missouri State University. His research interests lie at the intersection of experimental condensed-matter physics and astrophysics, while his educational efforts have focused on outreach to the K-12 school system. Most of all, he believes in curiosity-driven learning in the sciences and all other fields.
See stories by Dr. David Cornelison