scholarly journals How to find natural reservoir hosts from endemic prevalence in a multi-host population: A case study of influenza in waterfowl

Epidemics ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Nishiura ◽  
Bethany Hoye ◽  
Marcel Klaassen ◽  
Silke Bauer ◽  
Hans Heesterbeek
Keyword(s):  
Host Population ◽  
Natural Reservoir ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

Do different parasite species interact in their effects on host fitness? A case study on parasites of the amphipod Paracalliope fluviatilis

Parasitology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 138 (9) ◽  
pp. 1176-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. RAUQUE ◽  
R. A. PATERSON ◽  
R. POULIN ◽  
D. M. TOMPKINS
Keyword(s):  
Parasite Species ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Population Means ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Coitocaecum Parvum ◽  
Paracalliope Fluviatilis ◽  
Generally True

SUMMARYThere is a gap in our understanding of the relative and interactive effects of different parasite species on the same host population. Here we examine the effects of the acanthocephalan Acanthocephalus galaxii, an unidentified cyclophyllidean cestode, and the trematodes Coitocaecum parvum and Microphallus sp. on several fitness components of the amphipod Paracalliope fluviatilis, using a combination of infection surveys and both survival and behavioural trials. In addition to significant relationships between specific parasites and measures of amphipod survival, maturity, mating success and behaviour, interactions between parasite species with respect to amphipod photophilia were also significant. While infection by either A. galaxii or C. parvum was associated with increased photophilia, such increases were negated by co-infection with Microphallus sp. We hypothesize that this is due to the more subtle manipulative effect of A. galaxii and C. parvum being impaired by Microphallus sp. We conclude that the low frequency at which such double infections occur in our sampled population means that such interactions are unlikely to be important beyond the scale of the host individual. Whether or not this is generally true, implying that parasitological models and theory based on single parasite species studies do generally hold, requires cross-species meta-analytical studies.

Fish population size, and not density, as the determining factor of parasite infection: a case study

Parasitology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. BAGGE ◽  
R. POULIN ◽  
E. T. VALTONEN
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Fish Population ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Total Fish ◽  
Infection Parameters ◽  
The Mean

The diversity and abundance of parasites vary widely among populations of the same host species. These infection parameters are, to some extent, determined by characteristics of the host population or of its habitat. Recent studies have supported predictions derived from epidemiological models regarding the influence of host population density: parasite abundance and parasite species richness are expected to increase with increasing host population density, at least for directly transmitted parasites. Here, we test this prediction using a natural system in which populations of the crucian carp, Carassius carassius (L.), occur alone, with no other fish species, in a series of 9 isolated ponds in Finland. The ectoparasite communities in these fish populations consist of only 4 species of monogeneans (Dactylogyrus formosus, D. wegeneri, D. intermedius and Gyrodactylus carassii); the total and relative abundance of these 4 species varies among ponds, with one or two of the species missing from certain ponds. Across ponds, only one factor, total fish population size, explained a significant portion of the variance in both the mean number of monogenean species per fish and the mean total abundance of monogenean individual per fish. In contrast, fish population density did not influence either monogenean abundance or species richness, and neither did any of the other variables investigated (mean fish length per pond, number of fish examined per pond, distance to the nearest lake, and several water quality measures). In our system, proximity among fish individuals (i.e. host population density) may not be relevant to the proliferation of monogeneans; instead, the overall availability of host individuals in the host population appeared to be the main constraint limiting parasite population growth.

scholarly journals Rabies control in wildlife: the golden jackal (Canis aureus) requests for attention – a case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Kemenszky ◽  
Ferenc Jánoska ◽  
Gábor Nagy ◽  
Ágnes Csivincsik
Keyword(s):  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Control Programme ◽  
Wild Boar Population ◽  
Research Groups ◽  
Multidisciplinary Research ◽  
Natural Reservoir ◽  
Rabies Control

In Hungary, the rabies control programme with oral bait immunisation of wild carnivores dates back to 1992. Since than, the rules of vaccine placement on bait density has not changed, in spite of drastic expansion of both the carnivore community and the wild boar population in Europe. Though, all these elements of the concerned ecosystem compete for the baits. This case study was based on the accidental finding of vaccine blisters in jackal stomachs during a large-scale investigation on jackals’ feeding ecology. The results showed 3.17% (0.57-10.87%) frequency of bait occurrence in jackal specimens harvested during the vaccination term. This finding contradicted previous reports on high bait uptake rate and rabies seroconversion in golden jackals. These results called the attention the need for paradigm shift in management of diseases maintained in a natural reservoir. In the authors’ opinion, for reassuring result, multidisciplinary research groups should re-evaluate disease control strategies time and again.

scholarly journals Gene flow and competitive exclusion of avian influenza A virus in natural reservoir hosts

Virology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 390 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Bahl ◽  
Dhanasekaran Vijaykrishna ◽  
Edward C. Holmes ◽  
Gavin J.D. Smith ◽  
Yi Guan
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Avian Influenza ◽  
Influenza A Virus ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Competitive Exclusion ◽  
Natural Reservoir ◽  
Avian Influenza A Virus ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

scholarly journals Plague metapopulation dynamics in a natural reservoir: the burrow system as the unit of study

2006 ◽  
Vol 135 (5) ◽  
pp. 740-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. DAVIS ◽  
N. KLASSOVSKIY ◽  
V. AGEYEV ◽  
B. SULEIMENOV ◽  
B. ATSHABAR ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Population ◽  
Metapopulation Dynamics ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Burrow System ◽  
Host Family ◽  
Natural Reservoir ◽  
System A ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Rhombomys Opimus ◽  
Family Groups

SUMMARYThe ecology of plague (Yersinia pestis infection) in its ancient foci in Central Asia remains poorly understood. We present field data from two sites in Kazakhstan where the great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus) is the major natural host. Family groups inhabit and defend burrow systems spaced throughout the landscape, such that the host population may be considered a metapopulation, with each occupied burrow system a subpopulation. We examine plague transmission within and between family groups and its effect on survival. Transmission of plague occurred disproportionately within family groups although not all gerbils became infected once plague entered a burrow system. There were no spatial patterns to suggest that family groups in close proximity to infected burrow systems were more at risk of infection than those far away. At one site, infection increased the chances of burrow-system extinction. Overall, it is useful to consider the burrow system as the unit of study within a much larger metapopulation.

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