title: Variability of whipworm infection and humoral immune response in a wild population of mole voles (Ellobius talpinus Pall.).
abstract: Restricted mobility and spatial isolation of social units in gregarious subterranean mammals ensure good defence mechanisms against parasites, which in turn allows for a reduction of immunity components. In contrast, a parasite invasion may cause an increased adaptive immune response. Therefore, it can be expected that spatial and temporal distribution of parasites within a population will correlate with the local variability in the host's immunocompetence. To test this hypothesis, the intra-population variability of a whipworm infestation and the humoral immune response to non-replicated antigens in mole voles (Ellobius talpinus Pall.), social subterranean rodents, was estimated. Whipworm prevalence in mole voles increased from spring to autumn, and this tendency was more pronounced in settlements living in natural meadows compared to settlements in man-made meadows. However, humoral immune response was lowest in animals from natural meadows trapped in autumn. Since whipworm infestation does not directly affect the immunity of mole voles, the reciprocal tendencies in seasonal dynamics and spatial distribution of whipworm abundance and host immunocompetence may be explained by local deterioration of habitat conditions, which increases the probability of an infestation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, 630091, Frunze street, 11, Novosibirsk, Russia. eug_nov@ngs.ru.|Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, 630039, Dobrolubova street, 160, Novosibirsk, Russia. eug_nov@ngs.ru.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Novikov
authors.affiliation: Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, 630091, Frunze street, 11, Novosibirsk, Russia.|Institute of Cytology and Genetic SB RAS, 630090, Prospekt Lavrentyeva 10, Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Petrovski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cytology and Genetic SB RAS, 630090, Prospekt Lavrentyeva 10, Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Viktoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, 630091, Frunze street, 11, Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Ekaterina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kondratuk
authors.affiliation: Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, 630091, Frunze street, 11, Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krivopalov
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cytology and Genetic SB RAS, 630090, Prospekt Lavrentyeva 10, Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moshkin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D056724:Immunity, Humoral; D008297:Male; D008971:Moles / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D012621:Seasons; D014257:Trichuriasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014258:Trichuris
keywords: Immune response; Mole voles; Spatial heterogeneity; Subterranean rodents; Whipworms