Kevin Lafferty
Dr. Keving Lafferty is a Senior Ecologist with the Western Ecological Research Center.
His main interest lies in how parasites affect ecosystems and, in turn, how ecosystems affect parasites. He is also involved in research on the conservation of marine resources, investigating strategies for protecting endangered shorebirds, fish and abalone. He has also assessed the effects of marine reserves.
Dr. Lafferty received his Ph. D. in Ecological Parasitology in 1991 at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and took a post doc with the National Marine Sanctuary and a research position at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is presently a Marine Ecologist for the USGS at the Channel Islands Field Station. As a UCSB adjunct faculty member, the university's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology generously provides for Dr. Lafferty's office and laboratory space in the Marine Lab. He advises graduate students in Marine Ecology, but has no formal teaching assignments.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Conservation biology
- Invasive species ecology
- Nearshore marine ecology
- Parasite ecology
- Wetland ecology
Professional Experience
Marine Ecologist, USGS, Western Ecological Science Center, Jul 1998-Present
Assistant Adj. Prof., UCSB, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, Jul 1998-Present
Assist. Research Biologist, UCSB Marine Science Institute, Jun 1996-Jul 1998
Assist. Research Biologist, UCLA, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Jun 1994-Jul 1998
Assist. Research Biologist, UCSB, Marine Science Institute, Jan 1993-May 1994
Post Doctoral Researcher, National Marine Sanctuaries Program, Jan 1992-Dec 1992
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1991
M.A., Zoology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1988
B.A., Aquatic Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1985
Affiliations and Memberships*
Amercian Society of Parasitologists
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
California Botanical Society
Ecological Society of America
Ecological Society of America
Natural Areas Association
Western Society of Naturalists
Science and Products
Local extinction of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) following rat eradication on Palmyra Atol
Unique parasite aDNA in moa coprolites from New Zealand suggests mass parasite extinctions followed human-induced megafauna extinctions
To reduce the global burden of human schistosomiasis, use ‘old fashioned’ snail control
Fear of feces? Trade-offs between disease risk and foraging drive animal activity around raccoon latrines
Monogenea of fishes from the lagoon flats of Palmyra Atoll in the Central Pacific
Marine infectious disease ecology
Facultative parasitism by the bivalve Kurtiella pedroana in the sand crab Emerita analoga
Seroprevalence of Baylisascaris procyonis infection among humans, Santa Barbara County, California, USA, 2014–2016
Grand challenges for integrated USGS science — A workshop report
Nearly 400 million people are at higher risk of schistosomiasis because dams block the migration of snail-eating river prawns
Human infectious disease burdens decrease with urbanization but not with biodiversity
Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 229
Local extinction of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) following rat eradication on Palmyra Atol
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, appears to have been extirpated from Palmyra Atoll following rat eradication. Anecdotal biting reports, collection records, and regular captures in black-light traps showed the species was present before rat eradication. Since then, there have been no biting reports and no captures over 2 years of extensive trapping (black-light and scent traps). By contAuthorsKevin D. Lafferty, John P. McLaughlin, Daniel S. Gruner, Taylor A. Bogar, An Bui, Jasmine N. Childress, Magaly Espinoza, Elizabeth S. Forbes, Cora A. Johnston, Maggie Klope, Ana Miller-ter Kuile, Michelle Lee, Katherine A. Plummer, David A. Weber, Ronald T. Young, Hillary S. YoungUnique parasite aDNA in moa coprolites from New Zealand suggests mass parasite extinctions followed human-induced megafauna extinctions
Having split early from Gondwana, Zealandia (now modern New Zealand) escaped discovery until the late 13th century, and therefore remains an important glimpse into a human-free world. Without humans or other land mammals, diverse and peculiar birds evolved in isolation, including several flightless moa species, the giant pouakai eagle (Harpagornis moorei), the kiwi (Apteryx mantelli), and the kakaAuthorsKevin D. Lafferty, Skylar R. HopkinsTo reduce the global burden of human schistosomiasis, use ‘old fashioned’ snail control
Control strategies to reduce human schistosomiasis have evolved from ‘snail picking’ campaigns, a century ago, to modern wide-scale human treatment campaigns, or preventive chemotherapy. Unfortunately, despite the rise in preventive chemotherapy campaigns, just as many people suffer from schistosomiasis today as they did 50 years ago. Snail control can complement preventive chemotherapy by reducinAuthorsSusanne H. Sokolow, Chelsea L. Wood, Isabel J. Jones, Kevin D. Lafferty, Armand Kuris, Michael H. Hsieh, Giulio A. De LeoFear of feces? Trade-offs between disease risk and foraging drive animal activity around raccoon latrines
Fear of predation alters prey behavior, which can indirectly alter entire landscapes. A parasite-induced ecology of fear might also exist if animals avoid parasite-contaminated resources when infection costs outweigh foraging benefits. To investigate whether animals avoid parasite contaminated sites, and if such avoidance balances disease costs and foraging gains, we monitored animal behavior at rAuthorsSara B. Weinstein, Chad W. Moura, Jon Francis Mendez, Kevin D. LaffertyMonogenea of fishes from the lagoon flats of Palmyra Atoll in the Central Pacific
A survey of the monogeneans of fishes from the lagoon flats of Palmyra Atoll detected 16 species already reported from the Indo-West Pacific faunal region. A total of 653 individual fish from 44 species were collected from the sand flats bordering the lagoon of the atoll. Eighteen species of fish were infected with monogeneans. The monogenean species recovered were: Benedenia hawaiiensis on AcanthAuthorsVíctor Manuel Vidal-Martínez, Lilia Catherinne Soler-Jiménez, Ma. Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo, John Mclaughlin, Alejandra G. Jaramillo, Jenny C. Shaw, Anna James, Ryan F. Hechinger, Armand M. Kuris, Kevin D. LaffertyMarine infectious disease ecology
To put marine disease impacts in context requires a broad perspective on the roles infectious agents have in the ocean. Parasites infect most marine vertebrate and invertebrate species, and parasites and predators can have comparable biomass density, suggesting they play comparable parts as consumers in marine food webs. Although some parasites might increase with disturbance, most probably declinAuthorsKevin D. LaffertyFacultative parasitism by the bivalve Kurtiella pedroana in the sand crab Emerita analoga
It is rare that an organism capable of independent or commensalistic existence can also become endoparasitic on a host. In this study, we documented a potential step toward parasitism in the commensal clam Kurtiella pedroana (Bivalvia: Galeommatoidea). Galeommatoideans are known commensals of various invertebrates, including crustaceans. Emerita analoga (Decapoda: Hippidae) is an abundant intertidAuthorsRitin Bhaduri, Paul Valentich-Scott, Mark Hilgers, Rajvir Singh, Mikaila Hickman, Kevin D. LaffertySeroprevalence of Baylisascaris procyonis infection among humans, Santa Barbara County, California, USA, 2014–2016
Baylisascaris procyonis (raccoon roundworm) infection is common in raccoons and can cause devastating pathology in other animals, including humans. Limited information is available on the frequency of asymptomatic human infection. We tested 150 adults from California, USA, for B. procyonis antibodies; 11 were seropositive, suggesting that subclinical infection does occur.AuthorsSara B. Weinstein, Camille M. Lake, Holly M. Chastain, David Fisk, Sukwan Handali, Philip L. Kahn, Susan P. Montgomery, Patricia P. Wilkins, Armand M. Kuris, Kevin D. LaffertyGrand challenges for integrated USGS science — A workshop report
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call for increased focus on a numbeAuthorsKaren E. Jenni, Martin B. Goldhaber, Julio L. Betancourt, Jill S. Baron, Sky Bristol, Mary Cantrill, Paul E. Exter, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Haines, Lauren E. Hay, Leslie Hsu, Victor F. Labson, Kevin D. Lafferty, K. A. Ludwig, Paul C. D. Milly, Toni L. Morelli, Suzette A. Morman, Nedal T. Nassar, Timothy R. Newman, Andrea C. Ostroff, Jordan S. Read, Sasha C. Reed, Carl D. Shapiro, Richard A. Smith, Ward E. Sanford, Terry L. Sohl, Edward G. Stets, Adam J. Terando, Donald E. Tillitt, Michael A. Tischler, Patricia L. Toccalino, David J. Wald, Mark P. Waldrop, Anne Wein, Jake F. Weltzin, Christian E. ZimmermanNearly 400 million people are at higher risk of schistosomiasis because dams block the migration of snail-eating river prawns
Dams have long been associated with elevated burdens of human schistosomiasis, but how dams increase disease is not always clear, in part because dams have many ecological and socio-economic effects. A recent hypothesis argues that dams block reproduction of the migratory river prawns that eat the snail hosts of schistosomiasis. In the Senegal River Basin, there is evidence that prawn populationsAuthorsSusanne H. Sokolow, Isabel J. Jones, Merlijn M. T. Jocque, Diana La, Olivia Cords, Anika Knight, Andrea Lund, Chelsea L. Wood, Kevin D. Lafferty, Christopher M. Hoover, Phillip A. Collender, Justin V. Remais, David Lopez-Carr, Jonathan Fisk, Armand M. Kuris, Giulio A. De LeoHuman infectious disease burdens decrease with urbanization but not with biodiversity
nfectious disease burdens vary from country to country and year to year due to ecological and economic drivers. Recently, Murray et al. (Murray CJ et al. 2012 Lancet 380, 2197–2223. (doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4)) estimated country-level morbidity and mortality associated with a variety of factors, including infectious diseases, for the years 1990 and 2010. Unlike other databases that reportAuthorsChelsea L. Wood, Alex McInturff, Hillary S. Young, DoHyung Kim, Kevin D. LaffertyConservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications
Habitat destruction and infectious disease are dual threats to nature and people. The potential to simultaneously advance conservation and human health has attracted considerable scientific and popular interest; in particular, many authors have justified conservation action by pointing out potential public health benefits . One major focus of this debate—that biodiversity conservation often decreaAuthorsHillary S. Young, Chelsea L. Wood, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Kevin D. Lafferty, Charles L. Nunn, Jeffrey R. Vincent - News
*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