Altizer, Sonia
Professor and Head
Entomology
- Altizer’s research centers on animal migration, insect ecology, host-parasite dynamics, and insect conservation. Much of her recent work focuses on interactions between monarch butterflies and a protozoan parasite to better the consequences of long-distance migration for animal-pathogen interactions, and host-pathogen evolution. She also collaborates with student researchers to study how factors such as seasonality, anthropogenic environmental change, and contact behavior influence the dynamics of pathogens affecting wild animal populations. Altizer uses a combination of field data collection, laboratory and field experiments, and community science data to examine processes that underlie ecological patterns. Starting in 2006, Altizer founded and directed a community science project Monarch Health (www.monarchparasites.org) through her lab at UGA, to engage hundreds of volunteer participants in sampling wild monarch butterflies to help track the spread of a protozoan parasite across North America. She and members of her lab participate in outreach events and other activities to enhance public engagement in science.
- https://www.altizerlab.org/