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Science 27 January 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5760, p. 432
DOI: 10.1126/science.311.5760.432k
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This Week in Science

Conservationists and research scientists have discussed the idea that pathogens could be used as genetic tags to record changes in the demography of the host population, but until now have failed to get to grips with any specific system. Biek et al. (p. 538) have characterized the spatial and temporal distribution of nonpathogenic feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and its natural host, the cougar, as the cats' populations recovered from heavy hunting pressure in the first half of the 20th century. Fast-evolving RNA viruses such as FIV provide insights into what the host population has been doing on an ecological time scale, despite the slow pace of chance of the host population.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)