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Rhythmicity of egg production by Heligmosomoides polygyrus in wild wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2009

E.D. Brown ,
D.W. Macdonald ,
T.E. Tew  and
I.A. Todd
E.D. Brown
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS
D.W. Macdonald*
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS
T.E. Tew
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS
I.A. Todd
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS
*
*Author for correspondence.
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Abstract

The rhythmicity of egg production by Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Nematoda) in wild caught wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) was studied. Faecal production followed a 24 h cycle, with peaks at 0400 h and troughs at 1300–1900 h. The patterns in eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) and total eggs were similar to each other, though the former was more accentuated. Both of these followed a 24 h cycle, with peaks coinciding with troughs in faecal production and vice versa. Faecal weight was inversely correlated with EPG, but was not significantly correlated with total eggs. The pattern in EPG presumably reflected the effect of faecal production on the total eggs excreted in each 3 h period. The observed cycle in total eggs probably describes the pattern of egg production by the worm, although other factors, such as the host's intestinal rhythms, may contribute to this cycle.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , June 1994 , pp. 105 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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