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Diet quality and immunocompetence influence parasite load of roe deer in a fragmented landscape

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Abstract

The influence of landscape structure and host diet on parasite load of wildlife is still largely unknown. We studied a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population in a fragmented agricultural landscape in southern France to explore the relationship of gastrointestinal nematode load with spleen mass (to index immunocompetence), faecal nitrogen (to index diet quality), landscape structure and age of 33 hunt-harvested roe deer. Gastrointestinal worm counts were negatively related to faecal nitrogen and spleen mass, explaining respectively 24.7% and 9.2% of the observed variability in parasite load. Landscape structure did not appear to have a direct influence on gastrointestinal worm counts, but since animals from more open areas have a diet that is richer in nitrogen, its influence may be indirect. In conclusion, in the study area, the colonisation of the agricultural landscape does not seem to have increased the risk of gastrointestinal nematode parasitism for roe deer, possibly because access to high-quality food enhances immunocompetence.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank J.P. Chanal and the local hunting associations with the Fédération Départementale des Chasseurs de la Haute Garonne for allowing us to work in the central forest and the surrounding fragmented area respectively. N. Navarro-Gonzalez was supported by the FPU programme from the Ministerio de Educación, Spain, and E. Serrano by the Juan de la Cierva programme, from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain. The manuscript was improved by constructive comments of an anonymous reviewer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servei d’ Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, E-08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

    Nora Navarro-Gonzalez, Santiago Lavín & Emmanuel Serrano

  2. Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), 31326, Castanet-Tolosan Cedex, France

    Hélène Verheyden, Bruno Cargnelutti, Bruno Lourtet, Joel Merlet, Tanguy Daufresne & A. J. Mark Hewison

  3. UMR 1225 Interactions Hôte Agents Pathogènes, INRA/ENVT, 31076, Toulouse Cedex, France

    Hervé Hoste

  4. Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution, Université de Montpellier 2, Montpellier, France

    Serge Morand

Authors
  1. Nora Navarro-Gonzalez
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  2. Hélène Verheyden
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  3. Hervé Hoste
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  4. Bruno Cargnelutti
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  5. Bruno Lourtet
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  6. Joel Merlet
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  7. Tanguy Daufresne
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  8. Santiago Lavín
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  9. A. J. Mark Hewison
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  10. Serge Morand
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  11. Emmanuel Serrano
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Correspondence to Emmanuel Serrano.

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Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Navarro-Gonzalez, N., Verheyden, H., Hoste, H. et al. Diet quality and immunocompetence influence parasite load of roe deer in a fragmented landscape. Eur J Wildl Res 57, 639–645 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-010-0474-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-010-0474-x

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