Patterns of parasite aggregation in the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Boag, B.; Lello, Joanne; Fenton, Andy; Tompkins, Daniel M.; Hudson, Peter J.

doi:10.1016/s0020-7519(01)00270-3

Cited by 66 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Rabbits were randomly sampled (min.Z1, max.Z64 individuals per month) from warrens in a 400 ha area located at the interface of heather moorland and arable farmland. For every individual sampled, we recorded body mass, sex, breeding conditions (nursing females, pregnant females) and parasite intensity (Boag et al 2001).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Peak shift and epidemiology in a seasonal host–nematode system

et al. 2005

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Insight into the dynamics of parasite-host relationships of higher vertebrates requires an understanding of two important features: the nature of transmission and the development of acquired immunity in the host. A dominant hypothesis proposes that acquired immunity develops with the cumulative exposure to infection, and consequently predicts a negative relationship between peak intensity of infection and host age at this peak. Although previous studies have found evidence to support this hypothesis through between-population comparisons, these results are confounded by spatial effects. In this study, we examined the dynamics of infection of the nematode Trichostrongylus retortaeformis within a natural population of rabbits sampled monthly for 26 years. The rabbit age structure was reconstructed using body mass as a proxy for age, and the host age-parasite intensity relationship was examined for each rabbit cohort born from February to August. The age-intensity curves exhibited a typical concave shape, and a significant negative relationship was found between peak intensity of infection and host age at this peak. Adult females showed a distinct periparturient rise in T. retortaeformis infection, with higher intensities in breeding adult females than adult males and non-breeding females. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis of an acquired immune response of the host to a parasite infection, supporting the principle that acquired immunity can be modelled using the cumulative exposure to infection. These findings also show that seasonality can be an important driver of host-parasite interactions.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We analysed our data with and without these two cohorts and this exclusion made no difference to the conclusions. During post-mortem analysis, we recorded the presence of myxoma lesions and, because we have previously identified an interaction between myxoma and nematodes (Boag et al 2001), we based our analysis on myxomatosis-free individuals.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peak shift and epidemiology in a seasonal host–nematode system

et al. 2005

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“…Recent work has suggested that, in the long-term, antigenically similar parasites cannot co-exist in one host (Alizon and van Baalen, 2008). Furthermore, one species may affect the other negatively by altering the physiological status of the intestine, for example, the pH (Mapes and Coop, 1973), or through competition for the same intestinal surface (Keymer, 1982;Boag et al, 2001).…”

Section: Co-infectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and infectious disease: helminthological challenges to farmed ruminants in temperate regions

Dijk

Sargison

Kenyon

et al. 2010

Animal

198

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In the UK, recent mean temperatures have consistently increased by between 18C and 48C compared to the 30-year monthly averages. Furthermore, all available predictive models for the UK indicate that the climate is likely to change further and feature more extreme weather events and a trend towards wetter, milder winters and hotter, drier summers. These changes will alter the prevalence of endemic diseases spatially and/or temporally and impact on animal health and welfare. Most notable among these endemic parasites are the helminths, which have been shown to be very strongly influenced by both the shortterm weather and climate through effects on their free-living larval stages on pasture. In this review, we examine recent trends in prevalence and epidemiology of key helminth species and consider whether these could be climate-related. We identify likely effects of temperature and rainfall on the free-living stages and some key parasite traits likely to determine parasite abundance under changed climatic conditions. We find clear evidence that climate change, especially elevated temperature, has already changed the overall abundance, seasonality and spatial spread of endemic helminths in the UK. We explore some confounders and alternative explanations for the observed patterns. Finally, we explore the implications of these findings for policy makers and the livestock industry and make some recommendations for future research priorities.

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“…We have recently analysed a particularly rich, longterm dataset on a nematode parasite (Trichostrongylus retortaeformis) and its common host, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), from a free-living age-structured population in Scotland (Boag et al 2001). We found there to be strong seasonal variability in the abundance of both host and parasite (Cattadori et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonality, cohort-dependence and the development of immunity in a natural host–nematode system

et al. 2007

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Acquired immunity is known to be a key modulator of the dynamics of many helminth parasites in domestic and human host populations, but its relative importance in natural populations is more controversial. A detailed long-term dataset on the gastrointestinal nematode Trichostrongylus retortaeformis in a wild population of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) shows clear evidence of seasonal acquired immunity in the age-structured infection profiles. By fitting a hierarchy of demographic infectionimmunity models to the observed age-structured infection patterns, we are able to quantify the importance of different components (seasonality, immunity and host age structure) of the parasite dynamics. We find strong evidence that the hosts' immunocompetence waxes and wanes with the seasons, but also contains a lifelong cohort factor, possibly acting through a maternal effect dependent on the host's month of birth. These observations have important and broad implications for the ecology of parasite infection in seasonal natural herbivore systems.

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Patterns of parasite aggregation in the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Cited by 66 publications

References 35 publications

Peak shift and epidemiology in a seasonal host–nematode system

Peak shift and epidemiology in a seasonal host–nematode system

Climate change and infectious disease: helminthological challenges to farmed ruminants in temperate regions

Seasonality, cohort-dependence and the development of immunity in a natural host–nematode system

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