Ancient Zoo: Parasite diversity and zoonotic events in ancient Britain (OneZoo CDT)

Emerging infectious diseases (diseases that have newly appeared in a population; EIDs) are one of the greatest threats to human health and global stability. However, for almost all EIDs, nothing is known of their past prevalence.

This historic information is essential for assessing trajectories of population abundance, and in turn determine whether a disease is genuinely newly emerging, and any long-term changes in prevalence.

This project aims to: - Improve our methods for detecting infection, and our understanding of wildlife pathology, by investigating the correlation between morphological and molecular measures of infection in faunal remains. - Identify first occurrence and changes in parasite diversity across British wildlife through historic and prehistoric times, and investigate correlations with landscape management, animal husbandry, proximity to settlement, and wildlife biodiversity and abundance.