We, as humans, are inextricably connected to global biodiversity through our shared environments and interactions. My program of study investigates the evolutionary ecology of wildlife, with two primary goals being to 1) enhance conservation of biodiversity within increasingly perturbed environments, and 2) explore the evolutionary legacies of host-parasite-pathogen relationships. Together these priorities are adding important insights to how environmental changes shape evolutionary trajectories. In particular, we have identified numerous species, and intra-specific lineages of concern for ongoing management; shifting evolutionary relationships between hosts, parasites and disease; and important geographic regions that may be considered evolutionary hotspots for emerging host-parasite interactions, with implications for disease risks. I will review some recent highlights of research and educational outreach from my lab, and outline some ongoing research directions for expanding mammalian molecular ecology and wildlife disease perspectives into the future. Emerging “One Health” perspectives emphasize that human well-being critically relies on healthy ecosystems and intact functional linkages among species, but as yet the overwhelming focus has been on human biomedical research: Our current and future work instead emphasizes the importance of considering human health concerns from the perspective of biodiversity in a changing world.

Andrew G Hope is an Assistant Professor at Kansas State University in the Division of Biology.