title: A comparison of two methods for quantifying parasitic nematode fecundity.
abstract: Accurate measures of nematode fecundity can provide important information for investigating parasite life history evolution, transmission potential, and effects on host health. Understanding differences among fecundity assessment protocols and standardizing methods, where possible, will enable comparisons across different studies and host and parasite species and systems. Using the trichostrongyle nematode Cooperia fuelleborni isolated from wild African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), we compared egg recovery and enumeration between two methods for measuring the fecundity of female worms. The first method, in utero egg count, involves visual enumeration of the eggs via microscopic inspection of the uterine system. The second method, ex utero egg count, involves dissolving the same specimens from above in a sodium chloride solution to release the eggs from the female's uterus, then enumeration under an inverted microscope. On average, the ex utero method resulted in 34% more eggs than the in utero method. However, results indicate that the two methods used to quantify parasitic nematode fecundity are highly correlated. Thus, while both methods are viable options for estimating relative nematode fecundity, we recommend caution in undertaking comparative studies that utilize egg count data collected using different methods.
authors.affiliation: Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 E. Green St, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.|Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 310 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Austin
authors.affiliation: Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 E. Green St, Athens, GA, 30602, USA. sbudischak@princeton.edu.|Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 106A Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08544-2016, USA. sbudischak@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Budischak
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, 510 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramadhin
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Eric P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Hoberg
authors.affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Art
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abrams
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, 105 Magruder Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.
authors.forename: Anna E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Jolles
authors.affiliation: Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 E. Green St, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.|Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, 510 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Vanessa O
authors.initials: VO
authors.lastname: Ezenwa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002020:Buffaloes / Q000469:parasitology*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D009348:Nematoda / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010063:Ovum / Q000166:cytology; D010270:Parasite Egg Count / Q000379:methods*; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Cooperia fuelleborni; Fecal egg count; Helminth fecundity; Trichostrongyle nematode