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The helminth parasite community of European badgers (Meles meles) in Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2019

R.L. Byrne Open the ORCID record for R.L. Byrne [Opens in a new window] ,
U. Fogarty ,
A. Mooney Open the ORCID record for A. Mooney [Opens in a new window] ,
E. Harris ,
M. Good Open the ORCID record for M. Good [Opens in a new window] ,
N.M. Marples Open the ORCID record for N.M. Marples [Opens in a new window]  and
C.V. Holland Open the ORCID record for C.V. Holland [Opens in a new window]
R.L. Byrne*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
U. Fogarty
Affiliation:
Irish Equine Centre, Johnstown, Naas, County Kildare, Ireland
A. Mooney
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
E. Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
M. Good
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Kildare Street, Dublin, Ireland
N.M. Marples
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
C.V. Holland
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
*
Author for correspondence: R.L. Byrne, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The European badger (Meles meles) is Ireland's largest terrestrial carnivore. Since first being identified as a wildlife reservoir of bovine tuberculosis in 1974 there has been an increased research focus into the behaviour of these ecologically important mammals in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). However, to date there has never been an assessment of the helminth parasite community of Irish badgers. This study of 289 badgers found helminth infection to be endemic within the sample population and we report for the first time the prevalence, abundance, intensity and aggregation of helminth infection in ROI. Eight distinct helminth taxa were recorded: Aelurostrongylus falciformis, Crenosoma melesi, Eucoleus aerophilus, Species A, Strongyloides spp., Uncinaria criniformis, and two unidentifiable but morphologically distinct nematodes. All helminths belong to the taxon Nematoda, and this is the first report of an exclusively nematode community across the badger's Eurasian distribution. Infection was not significantly influenced by the host sex, region of origin or season of sampling.

Keywords

BadgershelminthsMustelidparasite community
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 94 , 2020 , e37
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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Footnotes

*

Joint senior author

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