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Intestinal parasites of the Arctic fox in relation to the abundance and distribution of intermediate hosts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2009

A. STIEN ,
L. VOUTILAINEN ,
V. HAUKISALMI ,
E. FUGLEI ,
T. MØRK ,
N. G. YOCCOZ ,
R. A. IMS  and
H. HENTTONEN
A. STIEN*
Affiliation:
Norwegian Institute of Nature Research (NINA), The Polar Environmental Centre, N-9296, Tromsø, Norway
L. VOUTILAINEN
Affiliation:
Vantaa Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute, POB 18, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland
V. HAUKISALMI
Affiliation:
Vantaa Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute, POB 18, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland
E. FUGLEI
Affiliation:
The Polar Environmental Centre, Norwegian Polar Institute, N-9296 Tromsø, Norway
T. MØRK
Affiliation:
National Veterinary Institute, N-9292, Tromsø, Norway
N. G. YOCCOZ
Affiliation:
Norwegian Institute of Nature Research (NINA), The Polar Environmental Centre, N-9296, Tromsø, Norway Department of Biology, University of Tromsø, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway
R. A. IMS
Affiliation:
Norwegian Institute of Nature Research (NINA), The Polar Environmental Centre, N-9296, Tromsø, Norway Department of Biology, University of Tromsø, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway
H. HENTTONEN
Affiliation:
Vantaa Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute, POB 18, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland
*
*Corresponding author: Norwegian Institute of Nature Research, The Polar Environmental Centre, N-9296 Tromsø, Norway. Tel: +47 77 75 04 11. Fax: +47 77 75 04 01. E-mail: audun.stien@nina.no
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Summary

The intestinal parasite community of Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) on the Svalbard archipelago in the High Arctic was investigated in relation to the abundance and distribution of intermediate hosts. Five species of cestodes (Echinococcus multilocularis, Taenia crassiceps, Taenia polyacantha, Taenia krabbei and Diphyllobothrium sp.), ascaridoid nematodes and one unidentified acanthocephalan species were found. The cestodes E. multilocularis, T. crassiceps and T. polyacantha all showed a decreasing prevalence in the fox population with increasing distance from their spatially restricted intermediate host population of sibling voles (Microtus levis). In addition, the prevalence of E. multilocularis in a sample from the vole population was directly related to the local vole abundance. The cestode T. krabbei uses reindeer as intermediate host, and its prevalence in female foxes was positively related to the density of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhyncus). Finally, the prevalence of the ascaridoid nematodes also decreased with increasing distance from the vole population, a finding that is consistent with the idea that voles are involved in transmission, most likely as paratenic hosts. The prevalence of the remaining species (Diphyllobothrium sp. and an unidentified acanthocephalan) was very low. We conclude that the distribution and abundance of intermediate host structure the gastrointestinal parasite community of the Arctic fox on the Svalbard archipelago.

Keywords

population dynamicsdensity-dependent transmissionfood transmission
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 137 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 149 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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