West Nile Virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne virus of birds, emerged in North
America in 1999; the invading strain was then displaced within a few
years by a novel mutant. In order to understand this competitive
displacement event, and to predict transmission of WNV in bird
communities comprising hundreds of species, we collected data on bird
and mosquito infections, bird community composition, and mosquito biting
preferences from lab experiments, field observations, and
citizen-science databases. We use a Bayesian framework, including a
method for phylogenetic imputation applied to species with missing data,
to synthesize information across the entire disease life cycle and
throughout the community.

Ben Bolker is a quantitative ecologist with broad interests in the
ecology and evolution of host-pathogen interactions, ecological and
statistical modeling of population dynamics, and mixed models. After a
PhD in the epidemic dynamics of measles (Cambridge University) and
postdoctoral work on ecosystem carbon dynamics and spatial plant
competition (Princeton University), he worked at the University of
Florida and moved in 2010 to McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada), where he is jointly appointed in the departments of Biology and
Mathematics & Statistics.