Helminth parasites of the muskrat (<i>Ondatra zibethicus</i> (L.)) in Newfoundland

Rigby, Michael D.; Threlfall, William

doi:10.1139/z81-294

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…But, since we found a greater number of examples where they acquire the species richness we observe for other aquatic vertebrates, this is not universally true (e.g. Ondatra zibethicus (Beckett and Gallicchio, 1967;Rigby and Threlfall, 1981); Eumetopias jubatus (Stroud and Dailey, 1978;Shults, 1986)). In fact, the major patterns suggest the importance of ecological determinants.…”

Section: Interpretation Of Patternsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Ecological versus phylogenetic determinants of helminth parasite community richness

1990

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SummaryWe examine patterns of community richness among intestinal parasitic helminth communities in fishes, herptiles, birds and mammals with respect to the comparative number of component species in a host population. We show that terrestrial hosts have, on average, fewer component species than aquatic hosts. We also show that the mean number of component species in aquatic hosts increases from fishes through herptiles to birds before declining slightly in mammals. For terrestrial hosts, the mean number of component species increases from herptiles, through birds, reaching a maximum in mammals. We conclude that: (i) habitat of the host is more important in determining community richness than is host phylogeny; (ii) the phenomenon of 'host capture' may be largely responsible for increased species richness in some host groups; (iii) aquatic birds harbour the richest intestinal helminth communities; and (iv) as we interpret them, our data refute the time hypothesis, which would predict that fishes as the oldest lifestyle should have the richest helminth communities.

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Section: Interpretation Of Patternsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Ecological versus phylogenetic determinants of helminth parasite community richness

1990

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“… Sources: (1) Gilford (1954), (2) Ball (1952), (3) Beckett & Gallicchio (1967), (4) Senger & Neiland (1955), (5) McKenzie & Welch (1979), (6) MacKinnon & Burt (1978), (7) Rigby & Threlfall (1981), (8) Abram (1969), (9) Jordan & Hayes (1959), (10) Bafundo et al. (1980), (11) Harkema & Miller (1964), (12) Hoberg & McGee (1982), (13) Smith et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The decay of similarity with geographical distance in parasite communities of vertebrate hosts

Poulin¹

2003

Journal of Biogeography

193

236

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Aim The rate at which similarity in species composition decays with increasing distance was investigated among communities of parasitic helminths in different populations of the same host species. Rates of distance decay in similarity of parasite communities were compared between populations of fish and mammal hosts, which differ with respect to their vagility and potential to disperse parasite species over large distances.Location Data on helminth communities were compiled for several populations of three mammalian host species (Ondatra zibethicus, Procyon lotor and Canis latrans) and three fish host species (Perca flavescens, Catostomus commersoni and Esox lucius) from continental North America.Methods Distances between localities and similarity in the composition of helminth communities, the latter computed using the Jaccard index, were calculated for all possible pairs of host populations within each host species. Similarity values were then regressed against distance to see if they decayed at exponential rates, as reported for plant communities; the significance of the regressions was assessed using randomization tests. ResultsThe number of hosts examined per population did not correlate with the number of helminth species found per population, and thus sampling effort is unlikely to have confounded the results. In four (two mammals and two fish) of the six host species, similarity in helminth communities decayed exponentially with distance. When the log of similarity is plotted against untransformed distance, the slopes obtained for the two fish species are lower than those obtained for the two mammalian host species.Main conclusions Similarity in the composition of parasite communities appears to decay exponentially with increasing distance in some host species, but not in all host species. The rate of decay is not necessarily associated with the vagility of the host. Although distance decay of similarity is generally occurring, it seems that other ecological processes, related either to the host or its habitat, can obscure it.

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“…had the highest prevalence in the literature (range: 0-61%) and worm burdens range from 1 to 692 worms. In 1981, a study reported the highest nematode burden of 692 specimens of C. michiganensis in a muskrat in Newfoundland (60). Prevalence of T. opaca ranged from 0.93 to 27.69% with burdens ranging from 1 to 103 worms (Table S1).…”

Section: Phylum Nematodamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Pathogens, Diseases, and Contaminants of Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) in North America

et al. 2020

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Over the last 50 years, significant muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) harvest declines have been observed throughout North America. Several theories for the decline have been proposed, including increased parasite infections and disease within muskrat populations. No existing wholistic review of muskrat exposure to pathogens, contaminants, and diseases exists. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a thorough review of existing literature on muskrat pathogens, contaminants, and diseases across their natural range. This review is comprised of 131 articles from 1915 to 2019 and from 27 U.S. states and 9 Canadian provinces. A wide diversity of contaminants, toxins, and pathogens were reported in muskrats, with the most common diseases being cysticercosis, tularemia, Tyzzer's disease, and biotoxin poisoning from cyanobacteria. This review provides a summary of muskrat pathogens, contaminants, and diseases over a century that has observed significant population declines throughout the species' range in North America. Such data provide a baseline for understanding the potential role of disease in these declines. In addition, these data highlight critical knowledge gaps that warrant future research efforts.

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Helminth parasites of the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus (L.)) in Newfoundland

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Ecological versus phylogenetic determinants of helminth parasite community richness

Ecological versus phylogenetic determinants of helminth parasite community richness

The decay of similarity with geographical distance in parasite communities of vertebrate hosts

A Review of Pathogens, Diseases, and Contaminants of Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) in North America

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