Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T01:12:28.875Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The role of parasite fecundity and longevity in the success of Trichostrongylus tenuis in low density red grouse populations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

J. L. Shaw  and
R. Moss
J. L. Shaw
Affiliation:
1Zoology Department, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB9 2TN, Scotland
R. Moss
Affiliation:
2lnstitute of Terrestrial Ecology, Hill of Brathens, Banchory, Kincardineshire AB3 4BY, Scotland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The prevalence of the caecal threadworm Trichostrongylus tenuis in red grouse in the north of Scotland was high despite low grouse densities. Prevalence, intensity and aggregation of threadworms was higher in old than in young grouse. Infections were long-lasting: populations of adult worms could survive for over 2 years in grouse, with little mortality. Parasite egg output decreased with the age of a worm population, largely as a result of a decrease in the fecundity of ageing female worms. Seasonal variations in worm fecundity were also evident.However, there was no evidence of an intensitydependent decrease of worm fecundity with increasing worm numbers in either captive or wild grouse. The long life and high reproductive capacity of T. tenuis probably contribute to its effective transmission and high prevalence.

Keywords

Trichostrongylus tenuisred grousefecunditylongevity
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 99 , Issue 2 , October 1989 , pp. 253 - 258
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allonby, E. W. & Urquhart, G. M. (1973). Self-cure of Haemonchus contortus infections under field conditions. Parasitology 66, 43–53.Google Scholar
Anderson, R. M. (1982). Epidemiology. In Modern Parasitology (ed. Cox, F. E. G.), pp. 204–51. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Bailey, N. T. J. (1984). Statistical Methods in Biology. 2dn Edn.London: Hodder & Stoughton.Google Scholar
Barnes, R. F. W. (1987). The decline of the red grouse population in Scotland. Journal of Applied Ecology 24, 735–41.Google Scholar
Behnke, J. M. (1987). Evasion of immunity by nematode parasites causing chronic infections. Advances in Parasitology 26, 1–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cobbett, L. & Graham-Smith, G. S. (1910). The pathology of grouse disease. Journal of Hygiene 10, 1–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coles, G. C., East, J. M. & Jenkins, S. N. (1975). The mechanism of action of the anthelmintic levamisole. General Pharmacology 6, 309–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Committee Of Inquiry On Grouse Disease (1911). The Grouse in Health and in Disease (ed. Lord Lovat, ). London: Smith, Elder & Co.Google Scholar
Dineen, J. K. & Windon, R. G. (1980). The effect of acquired resistance on adult worms of Trichostrongylus colubriformis in lambs. International Journal for Parasitology 10, 249–52.Google Scholar
Dunn, A. M. (1978). Veterinary Helminthology. 2nd Edn.London: Heinemann Medical Books Ltd.Google Scholar
Gibson, T. E. (1952). The development of acquired resistance by sheep to infestation with the nematode Trichostrongylus axei. Journal of Helminthology 26, 43–53.Google Scholar
Hudson, P. J. (1986). Red Grouse. The Biology and Management of a Wild Game Bird. Fordingbridge: The Game Conservancy Trust.Google Scholar
Hudson, P. J., Dobson, A. P. & Newborn, D. (1985). Cyclic and non-cyclic populations of red grouse: a role for parasitism? In Ecology and Genetics of Host—Parasite Interactions (ed. Rollinson, D. & Anderson, R. M.), pp. 77–89. Linnean Society of London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Hudson, P. J. & Watson, A. (1985). The red grouse. Biologist 32, 13–18.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1977). Manual of Veterinary Parasitological Laboratory Techniques. Technical Bulletin 18.Google Scholar
Moss, R. (1969). Rearing red grouse and ptarmigan in captivity. Aviculture Magazine 75, 256–61.Google Scholar
Moss, R. & Hansen, I. (1980). Grouse nutrition. Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews, Ser. B 50, 555–67.Google Scholar
Picozzi, N. (1968). Grouse bags in relation to the management and geology of heather moors. Journal of Applied Ecology 5, 483–8.Google Scholar
Savory, C. J. (1974). The feeding ecology of red grouse in N.E. Scotland. Ph.D. thesis, University of Aberdeen.Google Scholar
Shaw, J. L. (1988). Epidemiology of the caecal threadworm Trichostrongylus tenuis in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus Lath.). Ph.D. thesis, University of Aberdeen.Google Scholar
Shaw, J. L. & Moss, R. (1989). Factors affecting the establishment of the caecal threadworm Trichostrongylus tenuis in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus). Parasitology 99, 259–64.Google Scholar
Shaw, J. L., Moss, R. & Pike, A. W. (1989). Factors affecting the establishment of caecal threadworm Trichostrongylus tenuis in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus). Parasitology 99, 105–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siegel, S. (1956). Non-parametric Statistics for Behavioural Sciences. Kogakusha: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Snedecor, G. W. (1962). Statistical Methods, 5th Edn.Iowa: The Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Sprent, J. F. A. (1969). Evolutionary aspects of immunity in zooparasitic infections. Immunity to Parasitic Animals (ed. Jackson, G. J., Herman, R. & Singers, I.) vol. 1, pp. 3–62. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Taylor, D. M. & Thomas, R. J. (1986). The development of immunity to Nematodirus battus in lambs. International Journal for Parasitology 16, 43–6.Google Scholar
Watson, A. & Miller, G. R. (1976). Grouse Management. Fordingbridge: The Game Conservancy.Google Scholar
Watson, H., Lee, D. & Hudson, P. J. (1988). Primary and secondary infections of the domestic chicken with Trichostrongylus tenuis (Nematode), a parasite of red grouse, with observations of the effect on the caecal mucosa. Parasitology 97, 89–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, G. R. (1979). Effects of the caecal threadworm Trichostrongylus tenuis on red grouse. Ph.D. thesis, University of Aberdeen.Google Scholar
Wilson, G. R. (1983). The prevalence of caecal threadworms (Trichostrongylus tenuis) in red grouse. Oecologia 58, 265–8.Google Scholar