Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares?
Understanding the drivers of population fluctuations is a central goal of ecology. Although well-established theory suggests that parasites can drive cyclic population fluctuations in their hosts, field evidence is lacking. Theory predicts that a parasite that loosely aggregates in the host populati...
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:6090 2023-05-15T17:13:25+02:00 Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? Townsend, S.E. Newey, S. Thirgood, S.J. Matthews, L. Haydon, D.T. 2009 https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/6090/ https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1669 unknown Townsend, S.E. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/12015.html>, Newey, S., Thirgood, S.J., Matthews, L. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/8238.html> and Haydon, D.T. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/3955.html> (2009) Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Proceedings_of_the_Royal_Society_of_London_Series_B=3A_Biological_Sciences.html>, 276(1662), pp. 1611-1617. (doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.1669 <https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1669>) QL Zoology QH Natural history Articles PeerReviewed 2009 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1669 2022-09-22T22:09:10Z Understanding the drivers of population fluctuations is a central goal of ecology. Although well-established theory suggests that parasites can drive cyclic population fluctuations in their hosts, field evidence is lacking. Theory predicts that a parasite that loosely aggregates in the host population and has stronger impact on host fecundity than survival should induce cycling. The helminth Trichostrongylus retortaeformis in the UK's only native lagomorph, the mountain hare, has exactly these properties, and the hares exhibit strong population fluctuations. Here we use a host-parasite model parametrized using the available empirical data to test this superficial concordance between theory and observation. In fact, through an innovative combination of sensitivity and stability analyses, we show that hare population cycles do not seem to be driven by the parasite. Potential limitations in our parametrization and model formulation, together with the possible secondary roles for parasites in determining hare demography, are discussed. Improving our knowledge of leveret biology and the quantification of harvesting emerge as future research priorities. With the growing concern over the present management of mountain hares for disease control in Scotland, understanding their population drivers is an important prerequisite for the effective management of this species Article in Journal/Newspaper mountain hare University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276 1662 1611 1617 |
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University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftuglasgow |
language |
unknown |
topic |
QL Zoology QH Natural history |
spellingShingle |
QL Zoology QH Natural history Townsend, S.E. Newey, S. Thirgood, S.J. Matthews, L. Haydon, D.T. Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? |
topic_facet |
QL Zoology QH Natural history |
description |
Understanding the drivers of population fluctuations is a central goal of ecology. Although well-established theory suggests that parasites can drive cyclic population fluctuations in their hosts, field evidence is lacking. Theory predicts that a parasite that loosely aggregates in the host population and has stronger impact on host fecundity than survival should induce cycling. The helminth Trichostrongylus retortaeformis in the UK's only native lagomorph, the mountain hare, has exactly these properties, and the hares exhibit strong population fluctuations. Here we use a host-parasite model parametrized using the available empirical data to test this superficial concordance between theory and observation. In fact, through an innovative combination of sensitivity and stability analyses, we show that hare population cycles do not seem to be driven by the parasite. Potential limitations in our parametrization and model formulation, together with the possible secondary roles for parasites in determining hare demography, are discussed. Improving our knowledge of leveret biology and the quantification of harvesting emerge as future research priorities. With the growing concern over the present management of mountain hares for disease control in Scotland, understanding their population drivers is an important prerequisite for the effective management of this species |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Townsend, S.E. Newey, S. Thirgood, S.J. Matthews, L. Haydon, D.T. |
author_facet |
Townsend, S.E. Newey, S. Thirgood, S.J. Matthews, L. Haydon, D.T. |
author_sort |
Townsend, S.E. |
title |
Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? |
title_short |
Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? |
title_full |
Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? |
title_fullStr |
Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? |
title_sort |
can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/6090/ https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1669 |
genre |
mountain hare |
genre_facet |
mountain hare |
op_relation |
Townsend, S.E. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/12015.html>, Newey, S., Thirgood, S.J., Matthews, L. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/8238.html> and Haydon, D.T. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/3955.html> (2009) Can parasites drive population cycles in mountain hares? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Proceedings_of_the_Royal_Society_of_London_Series_B=3A_Biological_Sciences.html>, 276(1662), pp. 1611-1617. (doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.1669 <https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1669>) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1669 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
276 |
container_issue |
1662 |
container_start_page |
1611 |
op_container_end_page |
1617 |
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1766070539004149760 |