Publications

observations on the seasonal incidence of myxomatosis and its interactions with helminth parasites in the european rabbit (oryctolagus cuniculus).	european rabbits (oryctolagus cuniculus) were collected monthly over a 10-yr period and the incidence of myxomatosis and the size of helminth populations were recorded. myxomatosis occurred annually, always as an epidemic in the latter half of the year and was associated with both an increase in the percentage of animals infected and the size of the infections of the nematodes trichostrongylus retortaeformis and passalurus ambiguus and the cestode mosgovoyia pectinata. it is suggested that myxom ...	1988	3411700
the occurrence and abundance of helminth parasites of the mountain hare lepus timidus (l.) and the wild rabbit oryctolagus cuniculus (l.) in aberdeenshire, scotland.	mountain hares were collected each month between april 1984 and march 1985 and their intestines examined for helminths. 26 rabbits were also collected between july and december 1984 and examined for gastro-intestinal helminths. three nematode and two cestode species were found in the hares while only two nematode and one cestode species were found in the rabbits. trichostrongylus retortaeformis was recorded from 88% of the 193 hares and 92% of the rabbits while comparable figures for passalurus ...	1986	3734402
the incidence of helminth parasites from the wild rabbit oryctolagus cuniculus (l.) in eastern scotland.	samples of wild rabbits were collected each month over the six-year period 1977-82 and their intestines and abdomens examined for helminths. three species of nematode, four of cestode and one trematode were found. graphidium strigosum was recorded in 33% of the 786 rabbits, trichostrongylus retortaeformis in 79%, passalurus ambiguus in 14.2%, cittotaenia pectinata in 37%, c. denticulata in 11%, coenurus pisiformis in 3%, cysticercus serialis in 0.1% and fasciola hepatica in 0.1%. g. strigosum an ...	1985	3989265
the potential role of habitat on intestinal helminths of mountain hares, lepus timidus.	over the last century in the uplands of scotland, the extent of heather moorland which supports high densities of mountain hares lepus timidus has diminished and has gradually been replaced by large-scale commercial forestry plantations or expanding natural woodlands. the potential impact of such a change in land use on host-parasite interactions was investigated by comparing the intensity and prevalence of infection of hares by parasites in two separate habitats: a large hare-fenced young fores ...	2001	11818051
prevalence, intensity and aggregation of intestinal parasites in mountain hares and their potential impact on population dynamics.	mountain hare lepus timidus populations show unstable dynamics and since hares carry a significant helminth infection and host-parasite interactions are known to be destabilising, they have been proposed as a possible causal mechanism for the observed instability. we assessed the prevalence, intensity of infection and aggregation of the helminth parasites graphidium strigosum and trichostrongylus retortaeformis recovered from 589 mountain hares culled from 30 scottish sporting estates in 1999 an ...	2005	15777913
parasite-mediated reduction in fecundity of mountain hares.	mountain hare populations in scotland exhibit regular 10 year fluctuations in abundance. simple models of host-parasite population dynamics suggest that parasite-mediated reductions in host fecundity can cause a transition from stable to cyclic host population dynamics. we tested the hypothesis that parasites reduce hare fecundity by experimentally reducing parasite burdens and recording female survival, body condition and fecundity. we captured 41 adult female hares in october 2002; 22 were tre ...	2004	15801590
peak shift and epidemiology in a seasonal host-nematode system.	insight into the dynamics of parasite-host relationships of higher vertebrates requires an understanding of two important features: the nature of transmission and the development of acquired immunity in the host. a dominant hypothesis proposes that acquired immunity develops with the cumulative exposure to infection, and consequently predicts a negative relationship between peak intensity of infection and host age at this peak. although previous studies have found evidence to support this hypoth ...	2005	16024378
seasonality, cohort-dependence and the development of immunity in a natural host-nematode system.	acquired immunity is known to be a key modulator of the dynamics of many helminth parasites in domestic and human host populations, but its relative importance in natural populations is more controversial. a detailed long-term dataset on the gastrointestinal nematode trichostrongylus retortaeformis in a wild population of european rabbits (oryctolagus cuniculus) shows clear evidence of seasonal acquired immunity in the age-structured infection profiles. by fitting a hierarchy of demographic infe ...	2008	18077257