Meggan Craft

Assistant Professor

Contact Information:
Phone: 612-625-6242
Email: craft004@umn.edu

385C AS/VM
1988 Fitch Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108

Degrees

• B.A. Brown University (1997)
• Ph.D. University of Minnesota (2008)

Research Interests

I am an infectious disease ecologist; the broad aim of my research program is to understand infectious disease dynamics in animal and human populations. I test hypotheses regarding disease spread and consequent control through parameterizing theoretical disease models with empirical data. I am interested in two fundamental areas: (i) How are pathogens maintained in multi-host ecosystems? (ii) How does heterogeneity in population contact structure affect pathogen dynamics? My research is inherently interdisciplinary as I work at the intersection of environmental, human, and animal health. Although I am interested in expanding to other systems, my research currently uses canine distemper, rabies, and parvovirus as case studies of multi-host pathogens in African carnivores in the Serengeti ecosystem (Tanzania).

Instructional Areas

• Ecosystem Health

Advising

• Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Graduate Program
• Veterinary Medicine Graduate Program
• Conservation Biology Graduate Program
   
• Minnesota Behavior Group

Publications

For a listing of recent publications, refer to ResearchGate profile,  PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine, and to Google Scholar.

Please also see Experts@Minnesota profile.

Manuscripts in review:

• Caillaud, D., M.E. Craft, & L.A. Meyers. Group size variance shapes disease dynamics in social species. (In review— Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)
• Craft, M.E., H. Beyer, & D. Haydon. Predicting whether an outbreak will be minor or major using observable data: an indeterminate problem? (In review—PLoS ONE)
• Sinclair A.R.E., K. Metzger, J.M. Fryxell, C. Packer, A. Byrom, M.E. Craft, K. Hampson, T. Lembo, S. Durant, G. Forrester, J. Bukombe, J. Mchetto, J. Dempewolf, R. Hilborn, S. Cleaveland, A. Nkwabi, A. Mosser, S. Mduma. Asynchronous food web pathways buffer the response of Serengeti predators to El Niño Southern Oscillation. (In revision- Ecology)

Peer-reviewed articles:

• †Durant, S.M, †M.E. Craft, R. Hilborn, S. Bashir, J. Hando & L. Thomas (2011) Long term trends in carnivore abundance using distance sampling in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Journal of Applied Ecology 48, 1490-1500.
      †The first two authors contributed equally to this manuscript.
• Troyer, J.L., M.E. Roelke, J.M. Jespersen, N. Baggett, V. Buckley-Beason, D. MacNulty, M.E. Craft, C. Packer, J. Pecon-Slattery, & S.J. O’Brien. (2011) FIV diversity: FIV_Ple subtype composition may influence disease outcome in African lions. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 143, 338-346.
• Craft, M.E., & D. Caillaud (2011) Network models: an underutilized tool in wildlife epidemiology? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases, vol. 2011, Article ID 676949.
• Craft, M.E., E. Volz, C. Packer & L.A. Meyers. (2011) Disease transmission in territorial populations: the small-world network of Serengeti lions. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 8, 776-786.
• Durant, S.M., M.E. Craft, C. Foley, K. Hampson, A.L. Lobora, M. Msuha, E. Eblate, J. Bukombe, J. Mchetto & N. Pettorelli. (2010) Does size matter? An investigation of habitat use across a carnivore assemblage in the Serengeti, Tanzania. Journal of Animal Ecology, 79, 1012-1022.
• Craft, M.E., E. Volz, C. Packer & L.A. Meyers. (2009) Distinguishing epidemic waves from disease spillover in a wildlife population. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276, 1777-1785.
• †,‡Craft, M.E., P. L. Hawthorne, C. Packer & A. P. Dobson. (2008) Dynamics of a multi-host pathogen in a carnivore community. Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, 1257-1264.
      † Awarded Journal of Animal Ecology’s Young Author of the Year Award for 2008
      ‡ Featured in the following “In Focus” article: Haydon, D.T. (2008) Cross-disciplinary demands of multihost pathogens. Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, 1079-1081.
• Lembo, T., K. Hampson, D. Haydon, M.E Craft, A. Dobson, J. Dushoff, E. Ernest, R. Hoare, M. Kaare, T. Mlengeya, C. Mentzel & S. Cleaveland. (2008) Exploring reservoir dynamics: a case study of rabies in the Serengeti ecosystem. Journal of Applied Ecology, 45, 1246-1257.
• Craft, M.E. (2008) Capture and rapid handling of jackals (Canis mesomelas and Canis adustus) without chemical immobilization. African Journal of Ecology, 46, 2, 214-216.

Invited book chapters:

• Craft, M.E., S. Durant, J. Ogutu & K. Hampson. (Accepted-to be published 2013) Carnivore communities in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem. In: Serengeti IV: Sustaining biodiversity in a coupled human-natural system (Eds. Sinclair, A.R.E., K. Metzger, S. Mduma, & J. Fryxell), Chicago University press, Chicago.
• Lembo, T., H. Auty, K. Hampson, M.E. Craft, A. Dobson, R. Fyumagwa, E. Ernest, D. Haydon, R. Hoare, M. Kaare, F. Lankester T. Mlengeya, D. Travis & S. Cleaveland (Accepted-to be published 2013) Infectious diseases in the Serengeti: What we know and how we know it. In: Serengeti IV: Sustaining biodiversity in a coupled human-natural system (Eds. Sinclair, A.R.E., K. Metzger, S. Mduma, & J. Fryxell), Chicago University press, Chicago.
• Byron, A.E., W. Ruscoe, J. Nkwabi, K. Metzger, G. Forrester, M.E. Craft, S. Durant, S. Makacha, J. Bukombe, J. Mchetto, S. Mduma, D. Reed, K. Hampson, A.R.E. Sinclair (Accepted-to be published 2013) Small mammal diversity and population dynamics in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem. In: Serengeti IV: Sustaining biodiversity in a coupled human-natural system (Eds. Sinclair, A.R.E., K. Metzger, S. Mduma, & J. Fryxell), Chicago University press, Chicago.
• Hampson, K., J.T. McCabe, A. Estes, R. Hoare, B. Kissui, D. Rentsch, M.E. Craft, B. Cuthbert, L. Malugu, E. Masenga, & S. Cleaveland (Accepted-to be published in 2013) Living in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem: human-wildlife coexistence and conflict. In: Serengeti IV: Sustaining biodiversity in a coupled human-natural system (Eds. Sinclair, A.R.E., K. Metzger, S. Mduma, & J. Fryxell), Chicago University press, Chicago.
• Craft, M.E. (2010) Ecology of infectious diseases in Serengeti lions. In: Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids (Eds. Macdonald, D.W. & A. Loveridge), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 263-281.
• Cleaveland, S., C. Packer, K. Hampson, M. Kaare, R. Kock, M.E. Craft, T. Lembo, T. Mlengeya & A. Dobson. (2008) The multiple roles of infectious diseases in the Serengeti ecosystem. In: Serengeti III: Human Impacts on Ecosystem Dynamics (Eds. Sinclair, A.R.E., C. Packer, S. Mduma, & J. Fryxell), Chicago University press, Chicago, 209-239.

Current Funding

• “Aligning agricultural and conservation interests with respect to transboundary disease risk analysis”, CVM Population Systems Planning Grants, UMN.
• “Food security and infectious disease: seeking integrated solutions“ Mini Grant Program, Institute on the Environment, UMN.

Honors and Awards

• Institute on the Environment  Resident Fellow
• Young Author of the Year Award (Elton Prize)—British Ecological Society, 2008.
• Merit, Sigma Xi Graduate Student Poster Competition, 2007.
• Honorable Mention, Sigma Xi Graduate Student Poster Competition, 2006.
• Magna Cum Laude (top 10% of graduating class), Brown University, 1997.
• Elected to Sigma Xi, Brown University,1997.
   

Current Students

• Sergey Berg, PhD Conservation Biology Committee, 2016 (expected)
• Nitipong Homwong, PhD Veterinary Medicine Committee, 2015 (expected)
• Shelby Williams, Master of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior Committee, 2013 (expected)
• Amy Kinsley, Summer Scholar, 2012
• Heidi Prokash, Committee Member, Master of Biological Science
• Margaret Driciru, Committee Member, PhD