Weather and the ecology of bursate nematodes

The free-living stages of bursate nematodes are affected in different ways by meteorological factors. The eggs and 1st and 2nd stage larvae live in the feces, and these factors act on them through the feces. The embryo in the egg is protected by the eggshell. The 1st and 2nd stage larvae feed on micro-organisms, and are affected by the species of microorganisms and their metabolic products. The 3rd stage, infective larvae do not feed but leave the feces and migrate onto the vegetation, where they are more directly affected by meteorological factors than the earlier stages. They are partially protected by their sheath. The degree day concept can be used to predict the length of time required for development to the infective stage. Under constant conditions at 100% relative humidity and 20–35° C,Trichostrongylus colubriformis requires 90–115 degree days (temperature times number of days) to reach the infective stage, andHaemonchus contortus requires 95–144 degree days. The great majority of eggs dies within the 1st day after reaching pasture, altho most of them would develop to the infective stage in the laboratory. Only 0.03% ofH. contortus andT. colubriformis eggs placed on pasture were recovered from the vegetation as infective larvae. When larvae ofH. contortus were placed on pasture, 1.6% (about 50 times as many but still only aout 1/30 of their potential) were later recovered. The cause of this die-off is unknown. Two types of potential worm burden prediction must be made-general and specific. The former can be made on the basis of temperature and moisture, but the latter requires information on many modifying factors.Presented at the Eighth International Congress of Biometeorology, 9–14 September 1979. Shefayim, Israel.