Longevity of Mycobacterium bovis in brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) carcasses, and contact rates between possums and carcasses.

AIM: To determine, for a variety of environmental conditions, how long Mycobacterium bovis might remain viable inside the carcass of a brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) that died of bovine tuberculosis (Tb), and to measure the rate of contact between free-ranging possums and possum carcasses. METHODS: Lesions of M. bovis were simulated by inoculating excised spleens weighing 0.5-1 g with 0.2 mL liquid culture containing approximately 5 x 10(7) cfu M. bovis/mL. Simulated lesions were inserted into possum carcasses (n=48) at the peripheral lymph nodes. Carcasses were placed in the field at two sites (a tussock grassland and a podocarp-broadleaved forest site) and in two seasons (summer and winter) for up to 62 days. Survival rates of M. bovis were estimated by sampling the simulated lesions over time, and culturing the recovered lesion to determine if any viable M. bovis bacteria were present. The time taken for a free-ranging possum to first encounter a dead possum in its home range was estimated by live-trapping possums and fitting them with proximity loggers (n=13). A 'contact' was recorded if these possums came within 40-50 cm of proximity loggers fitted to possum carcasses. RESULTS: There were strong seasonal and site effects in the survival rate of M. bovis in possum carcasses. In the grassland habitat, no viable bacilli were cultured from any carcass after 3 days in summer, whereas in winter all samples were culture-positive for the first 20 days, and some were still positive after 27 days. The survival rates for forest habitat were intermediate between the results for grassland, and there were no culture-positive carcasses after 9 days in summer or 27 days in winter. In summer, infected carcasses (n=6) were first encountered by possums a mean 1.9 (range 0.4-6.7) days after placement. CONCLUSIONS: Possum carcasses were contacted by free-ranging possums within the period that viable M. bovis were shown to survive in a carcass. The risk of such infection is likely to be most significant in winter or in areas with microhabitats where the survival of M. bovis is high. However, the generally low survival rate of M. bovis in possum carcasses and the low frequency of possum-to-carcass contacts indicate this route of transmission alone could not maintain Tb in a possum population.

Monitoring the spread of myxoma virus in rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus populations on the southern tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. III. Release, persistence and rate of spread of an identifiable strain of myxoma virus.

An identifiable strain of myxoma virus was introduced into four local populations of wild rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus on the southern tablelands of New South Wales (NSW) and its spread in the presence of other field strains was monitored for 6 months. The main vector in this region was considered to be the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllis cuniculi. Each population of rabbits was of a high density and living in groups of warrens covering areas from 59 to 87 hectares. Rabbits occupying centrally located warrens were inoculated with the virus in late September or early October (spring) and the subsequent appearance of myxomatosis across the sites monitored by trapping, shooting and visual observations. Samples, taken from rabbits with myxomatosis, were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that allowed identification of the introduced strain. On all four sites the introduced virus spread from the inoculated rabbits in the centrally located warrens to rabbits in surrounding warrens. On Sites 1 and 3, this spread continued across the entire site persisting for at least 118 and 174 days respectively. On Sites 2 and 4, the virus was detected for 78 and 62 days respectively and the subsequent inability to detect the introduced virus correlated with the appearance of an unrelated field strain. Using three different methods of calculation, rates of spread ranged from 3.7 to 17.8 m d(-1).

Dependence of population response to fertility control on the survival of sterile animals and their role in regulation.

The species for which fertility control is presently used, or for which it is being developed, range from small mammal pests, such as the house mouse (Mus domesticus), to large mammals, such as the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). However, the possibility of a population response other than a reduction in abundance proportional to the fraction of animals rendered infertile has been shown in field trials. For example, when intermediate levels of sterility were imposed on wild populations of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), there was an increase in their abundance, on an annual basis, due to enhanced survival of juveniles and adult females. In this article, we relate intraspecific regulatory processes to the response of populations to fertility control using a set of density-dependent structured-population models. In each of the models, the population is exposed periodically to a fertility control agent that renders a fraction of fertile females sterile. Although our intention is not to predict the population response of any one particular species, the results of the models are illustrated using parameter values that are representative of populations of the European fox (Vulpes vulpes) in south-eastern Australia. When populations were regulated by density-dependent mechanisms in which sterile females did not participate, such as competition for resources among young animals or competition among fertile females for breeding sites or territories, then populations could increase in abundance for low and intermediate levels of imposed sterility. For other intraspecific regulatory mechanisms, such as competition for resources between all individuals, all levels of sterility were observed to reduce abundance. The population response was sensitive to (i) whether the survival of sterile adults was higher than that of fertile adults, (ii) whether animals could be sterilized before sexual maturity, and (iii) whether density dependence was modelled as a threshold process.

Limits to predator regulation of rabbits in Australia: evidence from predator-removal experiments.

Predator-prey studies in semi-arid eastern Australia demonstrated that populations of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) could be regulated by predators. The functional, numerical and total responses of foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to rabbits and the numerical response of feral cats (Felis catus) to rabbits, are described. Measurement of the rabbit component of foxes' stomach contents indicates a Type III functional response. The size of the fox population in summer was dependent on the availability of rabbits over the immediately preceding rabbit breeding season but there appeared to be no density-dependent aggregation of young foxes in areas of surplus food. The total response of foxes, estimated using the short-term numerical response of dispersing foxes, was directly density-dependent for low rabbit densities and inversely density-dependent for high rabbit densities. Two states are possible with this form of total response: a state with low rabbit densities regulated by predators and a state with high rabbit densities which occurs when rabbits escape predator regulation. The boundary between regulation and non-regulation by predators was demonstrated by a predator-removal experiment. In the treated areas, predators were initially culled and rabbits increased to higher densities than in an untreated area where predators were always present. When predators were allowed back into the treated areas, rabbit populations continued to increase and did not decline to the density in the untreated area. This is the critical evidence for a two-state system. When predators were present, rabbits could be maintained at low densities which were in the density-dependent part of the total response curve for foxes. Exceptionally high rabbit recruitment, or artificially reduced predation, could result in rabbits escaping predator-regulation. Under these circumstances, rabbits could move into the inversely density-dependent region of the total response curve for foxes.