Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland

We tested the null hypothesis that populations of hosts trapped in isolated neighbouring locations showing comparable habitat quality, should support similar helminth parasite communities. The study was undertaken in a 2-week period in late summer in NE Poland in a single year, thereby eliminating s...

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Main Authors:	Behnke, J.M., Barnard, C.J., Bajer, A., Bray, D., Dinmore, J., Frake, K., Osmond, J., Race, T., Sinski, E.
Format:	Article
Published:	Cambridge University Press 2001
Subjects:	Bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus helminths nematodes cestodes component community site-specific variation.
Online Access:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29188/

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author	Behnke, J.M. Barnard, C.J. Bajer, A. Bray, D. Dinmore, J. Frake, K. Osmond, J. Race, T. Sinski, E.
author_facet	Behnke, J.M. Barnard, C.J. Bajer, A. Bray, D. Dinmore, J. Frake, K. Osmond, J. Race, T. Sinski, E.
author_sort	Behnke, J.M.
building	Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection	Online Access
description	We tested the null hypothesis that populations of hosts trapped in isolated neighbouring locations showing comparable habitat quality, should support similar helminth parasite communities. The study was undertaken in a 2-week period in late summer in NE Poland in a single year, thereby eliminating seasonal and between-year variation in parasite burdens. A total of 139 Clethrionomys glareolus (bank vole) were sampled from 3 forest sites of similar habitat quality. Total species richness was 11 (6 nematodes and 5 cestodes) with 85±6% of the voles carrying at least 1 species and an overall mean species richness of 1±4. At the component community level, the fewest species of helminths were recorded from site 2 (n=6, compared with 9 at each of the other sites), but site 3 had the lowest Berger-Parker Dominance Index and the highest Simpson's Index of Diversity. At the infracommunity level, site 3 had the highest mean no. of helminthspecies}vole, the highest mean Brillouin's Index of Diversity but the lowest mean no. of helminths/vole. Voles from sites 1 and 3 differed in the nematodes that were most common (site 1, Heligmosomum mixtum ± 95%; site 3, Heligmosomoides glareoli ± 79±3%). At site 2 no species exceeded 50% but prevalence of Syphacia petrusewiczi was higher than at the other sites. The prevalence of cestodes was too low to test reliably (12±9%), but the highest prevalence of adult cestodes was recorded at site 1 (22±5%compared with 4±9 and 1±7%for sites 2 and 3 respectively). Host sex did not ifluence infection, but mean species richness increased with age. The different sites were responsible for most of the variation in our data, and the intrinsic factors (sex and age) were less important in shaping the component community structure of helminths. We conclude that even locations in relative close proximity to one another (13±25 km), selected on the basis of similar habitat quality, have rodent populations that differ in their helminth parasite communities, although for reasons other than the factors quantified in the present study.
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format	Article
id	nottingham-29188
institution	University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category	Local University
last_indexed	2025-11-14T19:04:59Z
publishDate	2001
publisher	Cambridge University Press
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spelling	nottingham-291882020-05-04T20:32:40Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29188/ Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland Behnke, J.M. Barnard, C.J. Bajer, A. Bray, D. Dinmore, J. Frake, K. Osmond, J. Race, T. Sinski, E. We tested the null hypothesis that populations of hosts trapped in isolated neighbouring locations showing comparable habitat quality, should support similar helminth parasite communities. The study was undertaken in a 2-week period in late summer in NE Poland in a single year, thereby eliminating seasonal and between-year variation in parasite burdens. A total of 139 Clethrionomys glareolus (bank vole) were sampled from 3 forest sites of similar habitat quality. Total species richness was 11 (6 nematodes and 5 cestodes) with 85±6% of the voles carrying at least 1 species and an overall mean species richness of 1±4. At the component community level, the fewest species of helminths were recorded from site 2 (n=6, compared with 9 at each of the other sites), but site 3 had the lowest Berger-Parker Dominance Index and the highest Simpson's Index of Diversity. At the infracommunity level, site 3 had the highest mean no. of helminthspecies}vole, the highest mean Brillouin's Index of Diversity but the lowest mean no. of helminths/vole. Voles from sites 1 and 3 differed in the nematodes that were most common (site 1, Heligmosomum mixtum ± 95%; site 3, Heligmosomoides glareoli ± 79±3%). At site 2 no species exceeded 50% but prevalence of Syphacia petrusewiczi was higher than at the other sites. The prevalence of cestodes was too low to test reliably (12±9%), but the highest prevalence of adult cestodes was recorded at site 1 (22±5%compared with 4±9 and 1±7%for sites 2 and 3 respectively). Host sex did not ifluence infection, but mean species richness increased with age. The different sites were responsible for most of the variation in our data, and the intrinsic factors (sex and age) were less important in shaping the component community structure of helminths. We conclude that even locations in relative close proximity to one another (13±25 km), selected on the basis of similar habitat quality, have rodent populations that differ in their helminth parasite communities, although for reasons other than the factors quantified in the present study. Cambridge University Press 2001 Article PeerReviewed Behnke, J.M., Barnard, C.J., Bajer, A., Bray, D., Dinmore, J., Frake, K., Osmond, J., Race, T. and Sinski, E. (2001) Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland. Parasitology, 123 (4). pp. 401-414. ISSN 0031-1820 Bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus helminths nematodes cestodes component community site-specific variation. http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPAR%2FPAR123_04%2FS0031182001008605a.pdf&code=96ab36b15704a96c589a28152cc6112a doi:10.1017/S0031182001008605 doi:10.1017/S0031182001008605
spellingShingle	Bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus helminths nematodes cestodes component community site-specific variation. Behnke, J.M. Barnard, C.J. Bajer, A. Bray, D. Dinmore, J. Frake, K. Osmond, J. Race, T. Sinski, E. Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland
title	Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland
title_full	Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland
title_fullStr	Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland
title_full_unstemmed	Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland
title_short	Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland
title_sort	variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the mazury lake district region of poland
topic	Bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus helminths nematodes cestodes component community site-specific variation.
url	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29188/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29188/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29188/

Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland

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