YESSS

we just had a lecture on disease ecology, and it was exactly what i was looking for. not in the research scientist way (although that too is appealing), but in a public health oriented way. it is so amazing. did you know that 2/3 to 3/4 of today's newly emerging infectious diseases in the world come from animal hosts or insect vectors? or that a recent study in belize...well..ill lay it out for you, so, spare me.

ok so. belize. certain types of vegetation that allow for a certain species of mosquito to flourish. it is a vector for a certain kind of human-risk malaria. fortunately for us humans, this mosquito isnt a great vector for the spread of malaria, so there isnt much human risk. now. runoff from agricultural fields upsteam flow into this marshy area. the runoff contains a strong deal of pesticides from the fields, which is high in phosphorus content. nitrogen and phosphorus are the two main ecosystem nutrients of importance, along with carbon. the influx of phosphorus accelerates certain plant growth in this area, and this type of vegetation becomes dominant, changing the ecosystem. this new vegetation makes a good habitat for another species of mosquito, which is in turn a great vector for malaria. and now human risk for malaria is suddenly high. and so, it demonstrates that by using these pesticides, human activity and behavior is, through an ecosystem approach to health, raising communities in belize's risk to malaria. and that through a combination of technical solutions (less harmful pesticides/reduced P content) and socio-cultural solutions (awareness and incentives to use alternative/organic agriculture) human risk to malaria can be reduced, and potentially restore the ecosystem back to a non-malaria filled habitat.

thats my quick primer on ecosystem ecology and my current excitement. im looking for internships that do exactly this right now, and hope to meet with some professors and the CDO at bard about it. but i was in this lecture and just loving every moment of it. i took 6 pages of notes. the lecturer was great, and made the connections between epidemiology and ecology that i want to know about. we even did a crash course in basic epidemiological foundations and models. very cool stuff.

still listening to the pixies.