Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T13:06:41.306Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The epidemiology of Nematodirus battus – is it changing?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

D. Rh. Thomas
D. Rh. Thomas
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Natural populations of 3rd-stage Nematodirus battus larvae were present on pastures in North Wales throughout the year; highest numbers were present in late spring, with smaller peaks occurring in autumn. Inter-site variation was observed in the timing and magnitude of these peaks. Hatching on experimental plots occurred 2 months to 2 years following deposition of eggs. Intraspecific and inter-site variation occurred in the timing, and inter-site variation occurred in the magnitude, of the mass hatch on upland and lowland experimental plots. Arrested 4th-stage N. battus were recovered from Welsh Mountain lambs. Percentage arrest and number of arrested worms was greatest during winter and early spring. The prevalence and intensity of N. battus infection in 1-, 2- and 3-year-old Welsh Mountain ewes was low. The plasticity exhibited in the parasite's life-history is discussed in relation to potential changes in the epidemiology of nematodiriasis.

Keywords

Nematodirus battusepidemiologyarrested larval developmenthatching
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 102 , Issue 1 , February 1991 , pp. 147 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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

Anderson, R. M. (1989). Discussion: ecology of pests and pathogens. In Perspectives in Ecological Theory (ed. Roughgarden, J., May, R. M. & Levin, S. A.), pp. 348–61. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armour, J., Baifden, K., Dalgleish, R., Ibarra-Silva, A. M. & Salman, S. K. (1988). Clinical nematodiriasis in calves due to Nematodirus battus infection. Veterinary Record 23, 230–1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armour, J. & Duncan, M. (1987). Arrested development in cattle nematodes. Parasitology Today 3, 171–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boag, B. & Thomas, R. J. (1975). Epidemiological studies on Nematodirus species in sheep. Research in Veterinary Science 19, 263–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Callinan, A. P. L., Morley, F. H. W., Arundel, J. H. & White, D. H. (1982). A model of the life-cycle of sheep nematodes and the epidemiology of nematodiriasis in sheep. Agricultural Systems 9, 199–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caswell, H. (1983). Phenotypic plasticity in life-history traits: demographic effects and evolutionary consequences. American Zoologist 23, 35–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coop, R. L., Jackson, F., Jackson, E., Fitzsimons, J. & Lowman, B. G. (1988). Nematodirus infection in lambs on an alternate grazing system of husbandry. Research in Veterinary Science 45, 62–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crofton, H. D. & Thomas, R. J. (1951). A new species of Nematodirus in sheep. Nature, London 168, 559.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dean, S. (1989). Worms. The Sheep Farmer April 1989, 28.Google Scholar
Gettinby, G., McKellar, Q. A., Bairden, K., Theodoridis, Y. & Whitelaw, A. (1985). Comparison of two techniques used for the recovery of nematode infective larvae from pasture. Research in Veterinary Science 39, 99–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, T. E. & Everett, G. (1981). Ecology of the free living stages of Nematodirus battus. Research in Veterinary Science 31, 323–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, E. G., Harris, T. J. & Ollerenshaw, C. B. (1984). Some observations on the epidemiology of Nematodirus battus on Anglesey. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 32, 121–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herbert, I. V. & Probert, A. J. (1987). Use of oxfendazole pulse release bolus in calves exposed to natural subclinical infection with gastrointestinal nematodes. Veterinary Record 121, 536–40.Google ScholarPubMed
Hollands, R. D. (1984). Autumn nematodiriasis. Veterinary Record 115, 526–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, M.A.F.F. (1986). Manual of Veterinary Parasitological Laboratory Techniques: Reference book 418. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
McKellar, Q., Bairden, D., Duncan, J. L. & Armour, J. (1983). Change in N. battus epidemiology. Veterinary Record 111, 309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mapes, C. J. & Coop, R. L. (1972). The development of single infections of Nematodirus battus in lambs. Parasitology 64, 197–216.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Michel, J. F. (1985). Epidemiology and control of gastrointestinal helminths in domestic animals. In Chemotherapy of Gastrointestinal Helminths (ed. Van den Bossche, H., Thienpont, D. & Janssens, P. G.), pp. 67–123. Berlin: Springer Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, G. B. B., Mathieson, A. O. & Fitzsimons, J. (1985). Epidemiology of Nematodirus battus infection in eastern Scotland. Research in Veterinary Science 38, 197–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nadler, S. A. (1987) Genetic variability in endoparasitic helminths. Parasitology Today 3, 154–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ollerenshaw, C. B., Graham, E. G. & Smith, L. P. (1978). Forecasting the incidence of parasitic gastroenteritis in lambs in England and Wales. Veterinary Record 103, 461–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ollerenshaw, C. B. & Smith, L. P. (1966). An empirical approach to forecasting the incidence of nematodiriasis over England and Wales. Veterinary Record 79, 536–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paton, G., Thomas, R. J. & Waller, P. J. (1984). A prediction model for parasitic gastro-enteritis in lambs. International Journal for Parasitology 14, 439–45CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Philippi, T. & Seger, J. (1989). Hedging one's evolutionary bets, revisited. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 4, 41–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodger, J. L. (1983). Change in N. battus epidemiology. Veterinary Record 111, 261–2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, L. P. & Thomas, R. J. (1972). Forecasting the spring hatch of Nematodirus battus by the use of soil temperature data. Veterinary Record 90, 388–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, R. J. (1959 a). A comparative study of the life-histories of Nematodirus battus and N. filicollis, nematode parasites of sheep. Parasitology 49, 374–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, R. J. (1959 b). Field studies on the seasonal incidence of Nematodirus battus and Nematodirus filicollis in sheep. Parasitology 49, 387–410.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, R. G. & Starr, J. R. (1978). Forecasting the peak of gastrointestinal nematode infection in lambs. Veterinary Record 103, 465–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waller, P. J. & Thomas, R. J. (1983). Arrested development of Nematodirus species in grazing lambs. Research in Veterinary Science 34, 357–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed