School of Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Oecologia. 2011 Mar;165(3):585-92. doi: 10.1007/s00442-010-1836-5. Epub 2010 Nov 14.
Many parasites affect the viability of their hosts, but detailed studies combining empirical data from both the field and the laboratory are limited. Consequently, the nature and magnitude of such effects are poorly known for many important host-parasite systems, including macroparasites of amphibians. We examined the effects of lungworm (Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala) infections in cane toads (Bufo marinus) within their invasive Australian range. The host-specificity of this parasite suggests that it might serve as a biological control agent for toads in Australia, if infection proves to reduce toad viability. Mark-recapture studies in the field (near Darwin, Northern Territory) revealed lowered growth rates in infected adult toads when compared to uninfected toads, and a laboratory experiment confirmed causality: experimental infection with R. pseudosphaerocephala reduce toad growth rates. In combination with previous work on the current host-parasite system, it is now evident that nematode lungworms reduce the viability of both newly metamorphosed and adult cane toads, and do so in the field as well as in the laboratory. Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala may be a valuable component of a biological control strategy for cane toads in Australia.
许多寄生虫会影响宿主的生存能力，但将实地和实验室的经验数据结合起来的详细研究却很有限。因此，包括两栖类大型寄生虫在内的许多重要的宿主-寄生虫系统中，这种影响的性质和程度还知之甚少。我们在澳大利亚入侵范围内检查了肺蠕虫（Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala）感染对甘蔗蟾蜍（Bufo marinus）的影响。这种寄生虫对宿主具有特异性，如果感染确实降低了蟾蜍的生存能力，那么它可能成为澳大利亚蟾蜍的生物控制剂。在野外（北领地达尔文附近）进行的标记-重捕研究表明，与未感染的蟾蜍相比，感染的成年蟾蜍的生长速度降低，实验室实验证实了这一点：用 Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala 进行的实验感染降低了蟾蜍的生长速度。结合当前宿主-寄生虫系统的先前工作，现在很明显，线虫肺蠕虫会降低新变态和成年甘蔗蟾蜍的生存能力，而且无论是在野外还是在实验室都是如此。Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala 可能是澳大利亚甘蔗蟾蜍生物控制策略的一个有价值的组成部分。
