Does myxomatosis still regulate numbers of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus Linnaeus, 1758) in the United Kingdom?
Myxomatosis now kills a much smaller proportion of rabbit populations than in the past, while remaining an important regulatory factor, as shown experimentally. On two separate occasions, experimental reduction of the prevalence of the disease (by reducing infestations of the main vector, the rabbit flea) led to significant increases in numbers of rabbits surviving the winter.
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Central Science Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Worplesdon, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Ross
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Fox
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D000818:Animals; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000254:growth & development*; D009234:Myxomatosis, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000635:transmission; D011156:Population Density; D015995:Prevalence; D011817:Rabbits; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000254:growth & development*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology