Population dynamics of Hymenolepis nana in mice: fecundity and the ‘crowding effect’

Abstract

Young white mice were infected with different doses of eggs or cysticercoids of Hymenolepis nana and the subsequent faecal egg output was measured over a 3-day period. This was then correlated with worm numbers, determined after killing the hosts. The longest worm in each infection was measured and it was shown that crowding decreased the linear dimensions, number of eggs per proglottis and rate of proglottis production of these worms, but that their shape was not affected.The relation between total egg output and worm numbers was complex. In both egg-derived and cysticercoid-derived infections the egg production rose to a peak, fell and then levelled off to a constant rate with increasing worm numbers. Cysticercoid-derived worms were larger than egg-derived worms, but produced approximately the same number of eggs per unit of biomass. The differences in the egg output curves for the two types of infection were interpreted as being due to their size difference; this in turn may be a consequence of the host immunological response.