Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T04:21:54.284Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Myxomatosis: the release and spread of the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) in the Central District of Victoria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

Rosamond C. H. Shepherd  and
J. W. Edmonds
Rosamond C. H. Shepherd
Affiliation:
Keith Turnball Research Institute, Vermin and Noxious Weeds Destruction Board, Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia
J. W. Edmonds
Affiliation:
Keith Turnball Research Institute, Vermin and Noxious Weeds Destruction Board, Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The European rabbit flea was first released in Victoria in August 1969 at Werribee. Releases were made on five different land forms. At one site the first flea was recovered 2 weeks after release. Fleas were recovered between 4 and 6 weeks after release at the other sites. Differences in establishment and spread on the different land forms were due to physically restricted movement of some rabbit populations. By June 1971 80% of rabbits were infested but an occasional young uninfested rabbit was still found in August 1978. Infestation numbers were higher than in the Mallee region especially on pregnant does.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 83 , Issue 2 , October 1979 , pp. 285 - 294
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

References

Allan, R. M. (1956). A study of the population of the rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) on the wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) in N.E. Scotland. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London, Series A General Entomology 31, 145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansi, W. (1957). The study of some viruses by the plate gel diffusion precipitin test. Journal of Comparative Pathology 67, 297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mead-Briggs, A. R., Vaughan, J. A. & Rennison, B. D. (1975). Seasonal variations in numbers of the rabbit flea on the wild rabbit. Parasitology 70, 103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myers, K. & Gilbert, N. (1968). Determination of age of wild rabbits in Australia. Journal of Wildlife Management 32, 841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, Rosamond C. H. & Edmonds, J. W. (1973). Observations of ectoparasites of the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) in the Werribee district of Victoria. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 12, 195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, Rosamond C. H. & Edmonds, J. W. (1976). The establishment and spread of Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) and its location on the host, Orctolagus cuniculus (L.) in the Mallee Region of Victoria. Australian Wildlife Research 3, 29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, Rosamond C. H., Nolan, I. F. & Edmonds, J. W. (1978). A review of methods to capture live wild rabbits in Victoria. Journal of Wildlife Management 42, 179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, Rosamond C. H. & Williams, D. (1976). Use of a gill net for the capture of wild rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) Journal of Applied Ecology 13, 57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sobey, W. R. & Conolly, D. (1971). Myxomatosis: the introduction of the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) into wild rabbit populations in Australia. Journal of Hygiene 69, 331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sobey, W. R., Connolly, D. & Adams, K. M. (1966). Myxomatosis: a simple method of sampling blood and testing for circulating soluble antigens or antibodies to them. Australian Journal of Science 28, 354.Google Scholar
Sobey, W. R., Menzies, W. & Connolly, D. (1974). Myxomatosis: some observations on breeding the European rabbit flea, Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) in an animal house. Journal of Hygiene 72, 453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, R. T. (1973). Establishment and seasonal variation in abundance of the European rabbit flea, Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale), on wild rabbits in Australia. Journal of Entomology Series A 48, 117.Google Scholar
Williams, R. T. & Parer, I. (1971). Observations on the dispersal of the European rabbit flea, Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale), through a natural population of wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.). Australian Journal of Zoology 19, 129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar