Prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite Echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability
The epidemiology of the sucking lice Echinophthirius horridus was studied over a 4 year period in which their harbour seal hosts experienced marked inter-annual changes in food availability. Prevalence and intensity of infection varied in relation to host age but not sex. Burdens were highest on imm...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1998
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182098003072 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0031182098003072 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0031182098003072 2024-04-28T08:23:03+00:00 Prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite Echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability THOMPSON, P. M. CORPE, H. M. REID, R. J. 1998 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182098003072 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0031182098003072 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Parasitology volume 117, issue 4, page 393-403 ISSN 0031-1820 1469-8161 Infectious Diseases Animal Science and Zoology Parasitology journal-article 1998 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182098003072 2024-04-09T06:55:47Z The epidemiology of the sucking lice Echinophthirius horridus was studied over a 4 year period in which their harbour seal hosts experienced marked inter-annual changes in food availability. Prevalence and intensity of infection varied in relation to host age but not sex. Burdens were highest on immature seals, but both prevalence and intensity of infection were significantly higher in years when food availability was low. Observed intra-population variations in ectoparasite dynamics suggested that reported geographical differences in the prevalence of E. horridus may have resulted from methodological differences. In contrast to previous studies of other pinnipeds, lice were also absent on weaned pups, suggesting that E. horridus is transferred horizontally. No significant differences were found in the haematological parameters of infected and uninfected hosts. Nevertheless, there was a significant negative correlation between intensity of infection and several erythrocyte parameters, suggesting that high burdens of lice may compromise diving ability. Article in Journal/Newspaper harbour seal Phoca vitulina Cambridge University Press Parasitology 117 4 393 403 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Infectious Diseases Animal Science and Zoology Parasitology |
spellingShingle |
Infectious Diseases Animal Science and Zoology Parasitology THOMPSON, P. M. CORPE, H. M. REID, R. J. Prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite Echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability |
topic_facet |
Infectious Diseases Animal Science and Zoology Parasitology |
description |
The epidemiology of the sucking lice Echinophthirius horridus was studied over a 4 year period in which their harbour seal hosts experienced marked inter-annual changes in food availability. Prevalence and intensity of infection varied in relation to host age but not sex. Burdens were highest on immature seals, but both prevalence and intensity of infection were significantly higher in years when food availability was low. Observed intra-population variations in ectoparasite dynamics suggested that reported geographical differences in the prevalence of E. horridus may have resulted from methodological differences. In contrast to previous studies of other pinnipeds, lice were also absent on weaned pups, suggesting that E. horridus is transferred horizontally. No significant differences were found in the haematological parameters of infected and uninfected hosts. Nevertheless, there was a significant negative correlation between intensity of infection and several erythrocyte parameters, suggesting that high burdens of lice may compromise diving ability. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
THOMPSON, P. M. CORPE, H. M. REID, R. J. |
author_facet |
THOMPSON, P. M. CORPE, H. M. REID, R. J. |
author_sort |
THOMPSON, P. M. |
title |
Prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite Echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability |
title_short |
Prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite Echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability |
title_full |
Prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite Echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability |
title_fullStr |
Prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite Echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite Echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability |
title_sort |
prevalence and intensity of the ectoparasite echinophthirius horridus on harbour seals ( phoca vitulina ): effects of host age and inter-annual variability in host food availability |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1998 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182098003072 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0031182098003072 |
genre |
harbour seal Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
harbour seal Phoca vitulina |
op_source |
Parasitology volume 117, issue 4, page 393-403 ISSN 0031-1820 1469-8161 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182098003072 |
container_title |
Parasitology |
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117 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
393 |
op_container_end_page |
403 |
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1797584267858935808 |