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The dynamics of infection of Tribolium confusum by Hymenolepis diminuta: the influence of exposure time and host density

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Anne Keymer
Anne Keymer
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Imperial College, Prince Consort Road, London SW7
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Summary

Survival of Hymenolepis diminuta eggs (as measured by their infectivity to the intermediate host) was found to be age-dependent with an expected value of 11 days when the eggs were retained within the faecal pellet at 10 °C. The expected life-span of eggs under experimental conditions (i.e. extracted from faecal material and placed on filter paper at 30 °C) was estimated as 33 min. The mean parasite burden of populations of Tribolium exposed to known densities of H. diminuta eggs was found to rise to a plateau with increasing exposure time. The experimental results provided a method of estimating the instantaneous rate of parasite transmission: a value of 0·0004/egg/min/host/13 cm2 was obtained. The mean parasite burden of populations of T. confusum exposed to known densities of H. diminuta eggs was found to decrease exponentially with increasing host density. A second estimate of the instantaneous rate of parasite transmission of 0·004/egg/min/host/13 cm2 was obtained from the experimental results. No differences in susceptibility to infection between 2-week-old male and female beetles were found. A marked decrease, however, was apparent with increasing beetle age up to 14 weeks post-eclosion.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 84 , Issue 1 , February 1982 , pp. 157 - 166
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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References

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