Competition and mutualism among the gut helminths of a mammalian host

Joanne Lello (), Brian Boag, Andrew Fenton, Ian R. Stevenson and Peter J. Hudson
Additional contact information
Joanne Lello: F.D. McMaster Laboratories
Brian Boag: Perth & Kinross
Andrew Fenton: Institute of Zoology, ZSL
Ian R. Stevenson: University of Stirling
Peter J. Hudson: Penn State University

Nature, 2004, vol. 428, issue 6985, 840-844

Abstract: Abstract Most animal species are infected with multiple parasite species; however, the role of interspecific parasite interactions in influencing parasite dynamics and shaping parasite communities has been unclear. Although laboratory studies have found evidence of cross-immunity, immunosuppression and competition1,2,3,4,5,6, analyses of hosts in the field have generally concluded that parasite communities are little more than random assemblages7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14. Here we present evidence of consistent interspecific interactions in a natural mammalian system, revealed through the analysis of parasite intensity data collected from a free-ranging rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) population, sampled monthly for a period of 23 yr. The wild rabbit plays host to a diverse gut helminth community15,16,17 that reflects the communities seen in other economically important domestic herbivores18,19. These findings suggest that parasite interactions could have profound implications for the dynamics of parasite communities. The efficacy of parasite control programmes could be jeopardized if such interactions are not taken into account. In contrast, a clear understanding of such interactions may provide the basis for the development of more environmentally acceptable methods of parasite control.

Date: 2004
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02490 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:428:y:2004:i:6985:d:10.1038_nature02490

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/nature02490

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().