Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter
Parasitic nematodes are found in almost all wild vertebrate populations but few studies have investigated these host-parasite relationships in the wild. For parasites with free-living stages, the external environment has a major influence on life-history traits, and development and survival is gener...
Published in: | International Journal for Parasitology |
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2012
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Online Access: | https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/58696/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.05.007 |
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ftulancaster:oai:eprints.lancs.ac.uk:58696 2023-08-27T04:06:42+02:00 Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter Carlsson, Anja M. Irvine, K. Justin Wilson, Kenneth Piertney, Stuart B. Halvorsen, Odd Coulson, Stephen J. Stien, Audun Albon, Steve D. 2012-07 https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/58696/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.05.007 unknown Carlsson, Anja M. and Irvine, K. Justin and Wilson, Kenneth and Piertney, Stuart B. and Halvorsen, Odd and Coulson, Stephen J. and Stien, Audun and Albon, Steve D. (2012) Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter. International Journal for Parasitology, 42 (8). pp. 789-795. ISSN 0020-7519 Journal Article PeerReviewed 2012 ftulancaster https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.05.007 2023-08-03T22:23:24Z Parasitic nematodes are found in almost all wild vertebrate populations but few studies have investigated these host-parasite relationships in the wild. For parasites with free-living stages, the external environment has a major influence on life-history traits, and development and survival is generally low at sub-zero temperatures. For reindeer that inhabit the high Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, parasite transmission is expected to occur in the summer, due to the extreme environmental conditions and the reduced food intake by the host in winter. Here we show experimentally that, contrary to most parasitic nematodes, Marshallagia marshalli of Svalbard reindeer is transmitted during the Arctic winter. Winter transmission was demonstrated by removing parasites in the autumn, using a novel delayed-release anthelmintic bolus, and estimating re-infection rates in reindeer sampled in October, February and April. Larval stages of nematodes were identified using molecular tools, whereas adult stages were identified using microscopy. The abundance of M. marshalli adult worms and L4s increased significantly from October to April, indicating that reindeer were being infected with L3s from the pasture throughout the winter. To our knowledge, this study is the first to experimentally demonstrate over-winter transmission of a gastro-intestinal nematode parasite in a wild animal. Potential mechanisms associated with this unusual transmission strategy are discussed in light of our knowledge of the life-history traits of this parasite. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic Svalbard svalbard reindeer Lancaster University: Lancaster Eprints Arctic Svalbard International Journal for Parasitology 42 8 789 795 |
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Open Polar |
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Lancaster University: Lancaster Eprints |
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ftulancaster |
language |
unknown |
description |
Parasitic nematodes are found in almost all wild vertebrate populations but few studies have investigated these host-parasite relationships in the wild. For parasites with free-living stages, the external environment has a major influence on life-history traits, and development and survival is generally low at sub-zero temperatures. For reindeer that inhabit the high Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, parasite transmission is expected to occur in the summer, due to the extreme environmental conditions and the reduced food intake by the host in winter. Here we show experimentally that, contrary to most parasitic nematodes, Marshallagia marshalli of Svalbard reindeer is transmitted during the Arctic winter. Winter transmission was demonstrated by removing parasites in the autumn, using a novel delayed-release anthelmintic bolus, and estimating re-infection rates in reindeer sampled in October, February and April. Larval stages of nematodes were identified using molecular tools, whereas adult stages were identified using microscopy. The abundance of M. marshalli adult worms and L4s increased significantly from October to April, indicating that reindeer were being infected with L3s from the pasture throughout the winter. To our knowledge, this study is the first to experimentally demonstrate over-winter transmission of a gastro-intestinal nematode parasite in a wild animal. Potential mechanisms associated with this unusual transmission strategy are discussed in light of our knowledge of the life-history traits of this parasite. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Carlsson, Anja M. Irvine, K. Justin Wilson, Kenneth Piertney, Stuart B. Halvorsen, Odd Coulson, Stephen J. Stien, Audun Albon, Steve D. |
spellingShingle |
Carlsson, Anja M. Irvine, K. Justin Wilson, Kenneth Piertney, Stuart B. Halvorsen, Odd Coulson, Stephen J. Stien, Audun Albon, Steve D. Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter |
author_facet |
Carlsson, Anja M. Irvine, K. Justin Wilson, Kenneth Piertney, Stuart B. Halvorsen, Odd Coulson, Stephen J. Stien, Audun Albon, Steve D. |
author_sort |
Carlsson, Anja M. |
title |
Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter |
title_short |
Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter |
title_full |
Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter |
title_fullStr |
Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter |
title_full_unstemmed |
Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter |
title_sort |
disease transmission in an extreme environment: nematode parasites infect reindeer during the arctic winter |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/58696/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.05.007 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic Svalbard svalbard reindeer |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic Svalbard svalbard reindeer |
op_relation |
Carlsson, Anja M. and Irvine, K. Justin and Wilson, Kenneth and Piertney, Stuart B. and Halvorsen, Odd and Coulson, Stephen J. and Stien, Audun and Albon, Steve D. (2012) Disease transmission in an extreme environment: Nematode parasites infect reindeer during the Arctic winter. International Journal for Parasitology, 42 (8). pp. 789-795. ISSN 0020-7519 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2012.05.007 |
container_title |
International Journal for Parasitology |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
789 |
op_container_end_page |
795 |
_version_ |
1775347520268926976 |