David J Paez, Ph.D.
I am a quantitative biologist with special interests in the evolutionary ecology of host-pathogen interactions in aquatic systems. I use experimental and survey data to test alternative models describing the mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions at different levels, such as within and among hosts.
My research career started in fish biology, investigating ecological and evolutionary factors that lead to alternative reproductive phenotypes in Atlantic salmon. I then moved into the field of disease ecology where I further developed skills in quantitative biology, evolutionary ecology, and genomics. During my postdoc years, I conducted disease ecology research in several systems, including spongy moth-baculoviruses and fruit bats-paramyxoviruses. Since about 2018, I have been studying disease ecology in fish species of the Pacific Northwest, including salmonids and clupeids.
Professional Experience
Post-doc - The University of Chicago
Post-doc - Montana State University
Post-doc - The University of Alabama
Education and Certifications
BS - Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)
Ph.D. - Université Laval (Québec, Canada)
Affiliations and Memberships*
Ecological Society of America
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 13
FY 2023 herring disease program annual report FY 2023 herring disease program annual report
No abstract available.
Authors
Paul Hershberger, David James Páez
Local and systemic replicative fitness for viruses in specialist, generalist, and non-specialist interactions with salmonid hosts Local and systemic replicative fitness for viruses in specialist, generalist, and non-specialist interactions with salmonid hosts
Host tissues represent diverse resources or barriers for pathogen replicative fitness. We tested whether viruses in specialist, generalist, and non-specialist interactions replicate differently in local entry tissue (fin), and systemic target tissue (kidney) using infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) and three salmonid fish hosts. Virus tissue replication was host specific, but...
Authors
David James Páez, Gael Kurath, Rachel L. Powers, Kerry A. Naish, Maureen K. Purcell
Characteristics of a sea louse (Caligus clemensi) epizootic in wild Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) Characteristics of a sea louse (Caligus clemensi) epizootic in wild Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)
We characterized a natural sea louse epizootic of Caligus clemensi and the effects of parasitism on Pacific herring Clupea pallasii in Port Angeles Harbor, WA, USA. Infestation prevalence on newly metamorphosed age 0 Pacific herring reached 100% prevalence by mid-August. At this time, the mean louse intensity was 4.6 lice/fish, and a positive correlation occurred between louse intensity...
Authors
David James Páez, Jacob L. Gregg, Ashley MacKenzie, Sophie Amanda Hall, Paul Hershberger
Coproduction and modeling spatial contact networks prevent bias about infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus transmission for Snake River Basin salmonids Coproduction and modeling spatial contact networks prevent bias about infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus transmission for Snake River Basin salmonids
Much remains unknown about variation in pathogen transmission across the geographic range of a free-ranging fish or animal species and about the influence of movement (associated with husbandry practices or animal behavior) on pathogen transmission. Salmonid hatcheries are an ideal system in which to study these processes. Salmonid hatcheries are managed for endangered species recovery
Authors
Jeffrey P. Mattheiss, Rachel Breyta, Gael Kurath, Shannon L. LaDeau, David James Páez, Paige F. B. Ferguson
Variation in within-host replication kinetics among virus genotypes provides evidence of specialist and generalist infection strategies across three salmonid host species Variation in within-host replication kinetics among virus genotypes provides evidence of specialist and generalist infection strategies across three salmonid host species
Theory of the evolution of pathogen specialization suggests that a specialist pathogen gains high fitness in one host, but this comes with fitness loss in other hosts. By contrast, a generalist pathogen does not achieve high fitness in any host, but gains ecological fitness by exploiting different hosts, and has higher fitness than specialists in nonspecialized hosts. As a result...
Authors
David James Páez, Douglas G. McKenney, Maureen K. Purcell, Kerry A. Naish, Gael Kurath
Temperature variation and host immunity regulate viral persistence in a salmonid host Temperature variation and host immunity regulate viral persistence in a salmonid host
Environmental variation has important effects on host–pathogen interactions, affecting large-scale ecological processes such as the severity and frequency of epidemics. However, less is known about how the environment interacts with host immunity to modulate virus fitness within hosts. Here, we studied the interaction between host immune responses and water temperature on the long-term...
Authors
David J. Paez, Rachel L. Powers, Peng Jia, Natalia Ballesteros, Gael Kurath, Kerry A. Naish, Maureen K. Purcell
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 13
FY 2023 herring disease program annual report FY 2023 herring disease program annual report
No abstract available.
Authors
Paul Hershberger, David James Páez
Local and systemic replicative fitness for viruses in specialist, generalist, and non-specialist interactions with salmonid hosts Local and systemic replicative fitness for viruses in specialist, generalist, and non-specialist interactions with salmonid hosts
Host tissues represent diverse resources or barriers for pathogen replicative fitness. We tested whether viruses in specialist, generalist, and non-specialist interactions replicate differently in local entry tissue (fin), and systemic target tissue (kidney) using infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) and three salmonid fish hosts. Virus tissue replication was host specific, but...
Authors
David James Páez, Gael Kurath, Rachel L. Powers, Kerry A. Naish, Maureen K. Purcell
Characteristics of a sea louse (Caligus clemensi) epizootic in wild Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) Characteristics of a sea louse (Caligus clemensi) epizootic in wild Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)
We characterized a natural sea louse epizootic of Caligus clemensi and the effects of parasitism on Pacific herring Clupea pallasii in Port Angeles Harbor, WA, USA. Infestation prevalence on newly metamorphosed age 0 Pacific herring reached 100% prevalence by mid-August. At this time, the mean louse intensity was 4.6 lice/fish, and a positive correlation occurred between louse intensity...
Authors
David James Páez, Jacob L. Gregg, Ashley MacKenzie, Sophie Amanda Hall, Paul Hershberger
Coproduction and modeling spatial contact networks prevent bias about infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus transmission for Snake River Basin salmonids Coproduction and modeling spatial contact networks prevent bias about infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus transmission for Snake River Basin salmonids
Much remains unknown about variation in pathogen transmission across the geographic range of a free-ranging fish or animal species and about the influence of movement (associated with husbandry practices or animal behavior) on pathogen transmission. Salmonid hatcheries are an ideal system in which to study these processes. Salmonid hatcheries are managed for endangered species recovery
Authors
Jeffrey P. Mattheiss, Rachel Breyta, Gael Kurath, Shannon L. LaDeau, David James Páez, Paige F. B. Ferguson
Variation in within-host replication kinetics among virus genotypes provides evidence of specialist and generalist infection strategies across three salmonid host species Variation in within-host replication kinetics among virus genotypes provides evidence of specialist and generalist infection strategies across three salmonid host species
Theory of the evolution of pathogen specialization suggests that a specialist pathogen gains high fitness in one host, but this comes with fitness loss in other hosts. By contrast, a generalist pathogen does not achieve high fitness in any host, but gains ecological fitness by exploiting different hosts, and has higher fitness than specialists in nonspecialized hosts. As a result...
Authors
David James Páez, Douglas G. McKenney, Maureen K. Purcell, Kerry A. Naish, Gael Kurath
Temperature variation and host immunity regulate viral persistence in a salmonid host Temperature variation and host immunity regulate viral persistence in a salmonid host
Environmental variation has important effects on host–pathogen interactions, affecting large-scale ecological processes such as the severity and frequency of epidemics. However, less is known about how the environment interacts with host immunity to modulate virus fitness within hosts. Here, we studied the interaction between host immune responses and water temperature on the long-term...
Authors
David J. Paez, Rachel L. Powers, Peng Jia, Natalia Ballesteros, Gael Kurath, Kerry A. Naish, Maureen K. Purcell
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government