This study investigated comparatively the pathogenicity of experimental infection of mice and guinea pigs, with Angiostrongylus mackerrasae and the closely related species A. cantonensis. Time course analyses showed that A. mackerrasae causes eosinophilic meningitis in these hosts, which suggests that the species has the potential to cause meningitis in humans and domestic animals. Both A. mackerrasae and the genetically similar A. cantonensis caused eosinophilic meningitis in mice at two time points of 14 and 21 days post infection (dpi). The brain lesions in mice infected with A. mackerrasae were more granulomatous in nature and the parasites were more likely to appear degenerate compared with lesions caused by A. cantonensis. This may indicate that the mouse immune system eliminates A. mackerrasae infection more effectively. The immunologic responses of mice infected with the two Angiostrongylus species was compared by assessing ex vivo stimulated spleen derived T cells and cytokines including interferon-gamma, interleukin 4 and interleukin 17 on 14 and 21 dpi. The results were similar for mice infected with A. cantonensis and A. mackerrasae. Serum from the infected animals with either A. cantonensis or A. mackerrasae recognized total soluble antigen of A. cantonensis female worms on Western blot.

Small mammals were trapped in four rain forest fragments (3, 8, 20 and 97 ha), in an agricultural landscape, and in comparable continuous tropical rain forest in north Queensland, Australia over 2 y. The most frequently captured species were four murid rodents. Melomys cervinipes were captured in similar numbers in both continuous and fragmented forest. This species achieves greatest abundance at forest edges and this study suggests that edges of fragments and edges of continuous forest will support similar densities. Abundance of Uromys caudimaculatus was positively correlated with size of fragment and peaked in continuous forest. This species had a home range larger than the smaller fragments and was thus disadvantaged but its ability to utilize the agricultural matrix between fragments mitigated the effect. Rattus leucopus and R. fuscipes were most abundant in fragments and continuous forest respectively but both species occurred in similar abundance in the 97-ha fragment. This suggests their population size is related to habitat rather than competitive exclusion as previously postulated. Ordination of the populations of the nine most commonly captured mammals, separated the fragment and continuous sites but placed the largest fragment closest to the continuous sites. The contrasting response of the two Rattus spp. was the primary influence on the ordination. Second in importance was Trichosurus vulpecula, a folivorous possum, which was absent from the continuous sites. The fragments may have had more nutrient-rich, pioneer tree foliage than continuous forest. Isoodon macrourus, Perameles nasuta, Antechinus godmani and Uromys hadrourus also showed positive or negative response to fragmentation. Species utilizing the matrix between forest fragments and species adapted to forest edge are advantaged by the fragmentation process whereas forest specialists tend to extinction in fragments, particularly where the home range of the animal is not many times smaller than the fragment.