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Heligmosomoides polygyrus reduces infestation of Ixodes ricinus in free-living yellow-necked mice, Apodemus flavicollis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 January 2009

N. FERRARI ,
I. M. CATTADORI ,
A. RIZZOLI  and
P. J. HUDSON
N. FERRARI*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Patologia Animale, Igiene e Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria-Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria, 10-20133Milano, Italy Centro di Ecologia Alpina, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38040Viote del Monte Bondone Trento, Italy
I. M. CATTADORI
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Production and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, GlasgowG61 1QH, UK Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Department of Biology, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
A. RIZZOLI
Affiliation:
Centro di Ecologia Alpina, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38040Viote del Monte Bondone Trento, Italy
P. J. HUDSON
Affiliation:
Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Department of Biology, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Dipartimento di Patologia animale, Igiene e Sanità pubblica veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133Milano, Italy. Tel: +39 02503 18097. Fax: +39 02503 18095. E-mail: nicolaferrari@tiscali.it
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Summary

Free-living animals are usually inhabited by a community of parasitic species that can interact with each other and alter both host susceptibility and parasite transmission. In this study we tested the prediction that an increase in the gastrointestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus would increase the infestation of the tick Ixodes ricinus, in free-living yellow-necked mice, Apodemus flavicollis. An extensive cross-sectional trapping survey identified a negative relationship between H. polygyrus and I. ricinus counter to the prediction. An experimental reduction of the nematode infection through anthelmintic treatment resulted in an increase in tick infestation, suggesting that this negative association was one of cause and effect. Host characteristics (breeding condition and age) and habitat variables also contributed to affect tick infestation. While these results were counter to the prediction, they still support the hypothesis that interactions between parasite species can shape parasite community dynamics in natural systems. Laboratory models may act differently from natural populations and the mechanism generating the negative association is discussed.

Keywords

Heligmosomoides polygyrusIxodes ricinusco-infectionhost-mediated effectsApodemus flavicollis
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 136 , Issue 3 , March 2009 , pp. 305 - 316
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

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