Remotely sensed localised primary production anomalies predict the burden and community structure of infection in long‐term rodent datasets (2023)
Journal Article
Jackson, J. A., Bajer, A., Behnke-Borowczyk, J., Gilbert, F., Grzybek, M., Alsarraf, M., & Behnke, J. (in press). Remotely sensed localised primary production anomalies predict the burden and community structure of infection in long‐term rodent datasets. Global Change Biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16898

The increasing frequency and cost of zoonotic disease emergence due to global change have led to calls for the primary surveillance of wildlife. This should be facilitated by the ready availability of remotely sensed environmental data, given the imp... Read More about Remotely sensed localised primary production anomalies predict the burden and community structure of infection in long‐term rodent datasets.

Effects of an IgE receptor polymorphism acting on immunity, susceptibility to infection, and reproduction in a wild rodent (2023)
Journal Article
Wanelik, K. M., Begon, M., Bradley, J. E., Friberg, I. M., Jackson, J. A., Taylor, C. H., & Paterson, S. (2023). Effects of an IgE receptor polymorphism acting on immunity, susceptibility to infection, and reproduction in a wild rodent. eLife, 12, https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.77666

The genotype of an individual is an important predictor of their immune function, and subsequently, their ability to control or avoid infection and ultimately contribute offspring to the next generation. However, the same genotype, subjected to diffe... Read More about Effects of an IgE receptor polymorphism acting on immunity, susceptibility to infection, and reproduction in a wild rodent.

Carolinensis minutus (Dujardin, 1845) Travassos 1937 (Nematoda, Heligmonellidae) in Microtus agrestis in the United Kingdom (2022)
Journal Article
Jackson, J., & Friberg, I. (2022). Carolinensis minutus (Dujardin, 1845) Travassos 1937 (Nematoda, Heligmonellidae) in Microtus agrestis in the United Kingdom. Check List, 18(4), 845-848. https://doi.org/10.15560/18.4.845

The heligmonellid nematode Carolinensis minutus (Dujardin, 1845) Travassos, 1937 is recorded for the first time in Microtus agrestis (Linnaeus, 1761) in the United Kingdom. Small heligmosomoid specimens were recovered from a M. agrestis vole inhabiti... Read More about Carolinensis minutus (Dujardin, 1845) Travassos 1937 (Nematoda, Heligmonellidae) in Microtus agrestis in the United Kingdom.

Impacts of radiation exposure on the bacterial and fungal microbiome of small mammals in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (2021)
Journal Article
Antwis, R., Beresford, N., Jackson, J., Fawkes, R., Barnett, C., Potter, E., …Wood, M. (2021). Impacts of radiation exposure on the bacterial and fungal microbiome of small mammals in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Journal of Animal Ecology, 90(9), 2172-2187. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13507

Environmental impacts of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident are much debated, but the effects of radiation on host microbiomes have received little attention to date. We present the first analysis of small mammal gut microbiome from t... Read More about Impacts of radiation exposure on the bacterial and fungal microbiome of small mammals in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Partitioning the environmental drivers of immunocompetence (2020)
Journal Article
Jackson, J., Friberg, I., Hablutzel, P., Masud, N., Stewart, A., Synnott, R., & Cable, J. (2020). Partitioning the environmental drivers of immunocompetence. Science of the Total Environment, 747, 141152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141152

By determining susceptibility to disease, environment-driven variation in immune responses can affect the health, productivity and fitness of vertebrates. Yet how the different components of the total environment control this immune variation is rema... Read More about Partitioning the environmental drivers of immunocompetence.

Transcriptome-wide analysis reveals different categories of response to a standardised immune challenge in a wild rodent (2020)
Journal Article
Wanelik, K., Begon, M., Arriero, E., Bradley, J., Friberg, I., Jackson, J., …Paterson, S. (2020). Transcriptome-wide analysis reveals different categories of response to a standardised immune challenge in a wild rodent. Scientific reports, 10(1), 7444. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64307-7

Individuals vary in their immune response and, as a result, some are more susceptible to infectious disease than others. Little is known about the nature of this individual variation in natural populations, or which components of immune pathways are... Read More about Transcriptome-wide analysis reveals different categories of response to a standardised immune challenge in a wild rodent.

Not going with the flow : locomotor activity does not constrain immunity in a wild fish (2019)
Journal Article
Masud, N., Synnott, R., Hablützel, P., Friberg, I., Cable, J., & Jackson, J. (2019). Not going with the flow : locomotor activity does not constrain immunity in a wild fish. Ecology and Evolution, 9(21), 12089-12098. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5658

Immunity is a central component of fitness in wild animals, but its determinants are poorly understood. In particular, the importance of locomotory activity as a constraint on immunity is unresolved. Using a piscine model (Gasterosteus aculeatus) we... Read More about Not going with the flow : locomotor activity does not constrain immunity in a wild fish.

Diet in the driving seat: natural diet-immunity-microbiome interactions in wild fish (2019)
Journal Article
Friberg, I., Taylor, J., & Jackson, J. (2019). Diet in the driving seat: natural diet-immunity-microbiome interactions in wild fish. Frontiers in Immunology, 10(243), https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.00243

Natural interactions between the diet, microbiome and immunity are largely unstudied. Here we employ wild three-spined sticklebacks as a model, combining field observations with complementary experimental manipulations of diet designed to mimic sea... Read More about Diet in the driving seat: natural diet-immunity-microbiome interactions in wild fish.

The cost of infection : Argulus foliaceus and its impact on the swimming performance of the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) (2018)
Journal Article
Stewart, A., Hunt, R., Mitchell, R., Muhawenimana, V., Wilson, C., Jackson, J., & Cable, J. (2018). The cost of infection : Argulus foliaceus and its impact on the swimming performance of the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Interface, 15(147), https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2018.0571

For fish, there can be multiple consequences of parasitic infections, including the physical impacts on swimming and the pathological costs of infection. This study utilised the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and the ectoparasitic... Read More about The cost of infection : Argulus foliaceus and its impact on the swimming performance of the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

Physical cues controlling seasonal immune allocation in a naturally-occurring vertebrate (2018)
Journal Article
Stewart, A., Hablützel, P., Watson, H., Brown, M., Friberg, I., Cable, J., & Jackson, J. (2018). Physical cues controlling seasonal immune allocation in a naturally-occurring vertebrate. Frontiers in Immunology, 9, 582. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.00582

Seasonal patterns in immunity are frequently observed in vertebrates but are poorly understood. Here we focussed on a natural piscine model, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), and asked how seasonal immune allocation is driven by... Read More about Physical cues controlling seasonal immune allocation in a naturally-occurring vertebrate.

Physiological, but not fitness, effects of two interacting haemoparasitic infections in a wild rodent (2018)
Journal Article
Taylor, C., Wanelik, K., Friberg, I., Lowe, A., Hall, A., Ralli, C., …Bradley, J. (2018). Physiological, but not fitness, effects of two interacting haemoparasitic infections in a wild rodent. International Journal for Parasitology, 48(6), 463-471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2017.11.006

In contrast to the conditions in most laboratory studies, wild animals are routinely challenged by multiple infections at once, and these infections can interact in complex ways. This means that the impact of a parasite on its host’s physiology and f... Read More about Physiological, but not fitness, effects of two interacting haemoparasitic infections in a wild rodent.

A candidate tolerance gene identified in a natural population of field voles (Microtus agrestis) (2017)
Journal Article
Wanelik, K., Begon, M., Birtles, R., Bradley, J., Friberg, I., Jackson, J., …Paterson, S. (2017). A candidate tolerance gene identified in a natural population of field voles (Microtus agrestis). Molecular Ecology, 27(4), 1044-1052. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14476

The animal immune response has hitherto been viewed primarily in the context of resistance only. However, individuals, can also employ a tolerance strategy to maintain good health in the face of on-going infection. To shed light on the genetic and ph... Read More about A candidate tolerance gene identified in a natural population of field voles (Microtus agrestis).

From the animal house to the field : are there consistent individual differences in immunological profile in wild populations of field voles (Microtus agrestis)? (2017)
Journal Article
Arriero, E., Wanelik, K., Birtles, R., Bradley, J., Jackson, J., Paterson, S., & Begon, M. (2017). From the animal house to the field : are there consistent individual differences in immunological profile in wild populations of field voles (Microtus agrestis)?. PLoS ONE, 12(8), e0183450. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183450

Inbred mouse strains, living in simple laboratory environments far removed from nature, have been shown to vary consistently in their immune response. However, wildlife populations are typically outbreeding and face a multiplicity of challenges, para... Read More about From the animal house to the field : are there consistent individual differences in immunological profile in wild populations of field voles (Microtus agrestis)?.

Hook, line and infection : a guide to culturing parasites, establishing infections and assessing immune responses in the three-spined stickleback (2017)
Journal Article
Stewart, A., Jackson, J., Barber, I., Eizaguirre, C., Paterson, R., van West, P., …Cable, J. (2017). Hook, line and infection : a guide to culturing parasites, establishing infections and assessing immune responses in the three-spined stickleback. Advances in Parasitology, 98, 39-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.apar.2017.07.001

The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a model organism with an extremely well-characterized ecology, evolutionary history, behavioural repertoire and parasitology that is coupled with published genomic data. These small temperate z... Read More about Hook, line and infection : a guide to culturing parasites, establishing infections and assessing immune responses in the three-spined stickleback.

Half the story : thermal effects on within-host infectious disease progression in a warming climate (2017)
Journal Article
Stewart, A., Hablutzel, P., Brown, M., Watson, H., Parker-Norman, S., Tober, A., …Jackson, J. (2018). Half the story : thermal effects on within-host infectious disease progression in a warming climate. Global Change Biology, 24(1), 371-386. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13842

Immune defence is temperature-dependent in cold-blooded vertebrates (CBVs) and thus directly impacted by global warming. We asked whether immunity and within-host infectious disease progression are altered in CBVs under realistic climate warming in a... Read More about Half the story : thermal effects on within-host infectious disease progression in a warming climate.

An endemic hantavirus in field voles in northern England (2017)
Journal Article
Thomason, A., Begon, M., Bradley, J., Paterson, S., & Jackson, J. (2017). An endemic hantavirus in field voles in northern England. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 23(6), https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2306.161607

We report a PCR survey of hantavirus infection in the extensive field vole (Microtus agrestis) populations occurring in the Kielder Forest, northern England. A Tatenale virus-like lineage was frequently detected (~ 15% prevalence) in liver tissue. Su... Read More about An endemic hantavirus in field voles in northern England.

Changing expression of vertebrate immunity genes in an anthropogenic environment: a controlled experiment (2016)
Journal Article
experiment. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 16(175), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-016-0751-8

Background: The effect of anthropogenic environments on the function of the vertebrate immune system is a problem of general importance. For example, it relates to the increasing rates of immunologically-based disease in modern human populations and... Read More about Changing expression of vertebrate immunity genes in an anthropogenic environment: a controlled experiment.

Seasonal immunoregulation in a naturally occurring vertebrate (2016)
Journal Article
vertebrate. BMC Genomics, 17(369), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-016-2701-7

Background: Fishes show seasonal patterns of immunity, but such phenomena are imperfectly understood in vertebrates generally, even in humans and mice. As these seasonal patterns may link to infectious disease risk and individual condition, the nat... Read More about Seasonal immunoregulation in a naturally occurring vertebrate.

Immunology in wild nonmodel rodents : an ecological context for studies of health and disease (2015)
Journal Article
Jackson, J. (2015). Immunology in wild nonmodel rodents : an ecological context for studies of health and disease. Parasite Immunology, 37(5), 220-232. https://doi.org/10.1111/pim.12180

Transcriptomic methods are set to revolutionize the study of the immune system in naturally occurring nonmodel organisms. With this in mind, the present article focuses on ways in which the use of ‘nonmodel’ rodents (not the familiar laboratory spe... Read More about Immunology in wild nonmodel rodents : an ecological context for studies of health and disease.

An Immunological Marker of Tolerance to Infection in Wild Rodents (2014)
Journal Article
Jackson, J., Hall, A., Friberg, I., Ralli, C., Lowe, A., Zawadzka, M., …Begon, M. (2014). An Immunological Marker of Tolerance to Infection in Wild Rodents. PLoS Biology, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001901

Hosts are likely to respond to parasitic infections by a combination of resistance (expulsion of pathogens) and tolerance(active mitigation of pathology). Of these strategies, the basis of tolerance in animal hosts is relatively poorly understood,wit... Read More about An Immunological Marker of Tolerance to Infection in Wild Rodents.