Eric and his research group will seek to link understanding of large-scale mortality events in the endangered saiga antelope to the health of livestock grazing the steppes of Central Asia, in order to better appreciate the climatic drivers of disease in this mixed-use environment.

The saiga antelope suffered dramatic mortality in spring 2015, as herds aggregated for calving in central Kazakhstan. Affected herds suffered 100% mortality, and around 80% of the total population of around 250,000 died. This was a hard blow for a species brought back from the brink of extinction by strenuous anti-poaching efforts. The die-offs were caused by invasion of bacteria normally carried in the airways, triggered by stress and perhaps related to increased climatic variability. Livestock mortality was low, but few domestic animals were grazing these areas at the time, and some are vaccinated against the causative infection. However, livestock grazing is increasing, providing both threats of infectious disease spill-over to remaining saigas, and opportunities to understand shared drivers of disease emergence.

By conducting detailed interviews of livestock keepers in these remote areas, Eric and his team are aiming to better understand factors driving the utilisation of steppe lands for grazing, and disease constraints to production, in order to: (i) identify bio-climatic drivers of disease emergence in domestic and wild populations, and mitigating factors; (ii) demonstrate the potential for increased farmer involvement in disease surveillance, based on a proven platform of monitoring and targeted treatment of endemic diseases; and (iii) explore attitudes among farmers to saiga populations and their health.