Dynamics of Ostertagia spp. and Cooperia oncophora in field-grazed cattle from weaning to 2 years old in New Zealand, with particular reference to arrested development

Gastrointestinal nematode parasite burdens were monitored in a herd of field-grazed cattle from weaning to 2 years old to allow observations to be made on the dynamics of burdens of arrested Ostertagia spp. and Cooperia oncophora. Arrested Ostertagia spp. accumulated in the herd over their first autumn and winter to reach a peak in late winter/spring (August-October). From October until late January they declined at a rate comparable to that at which they had accumulated. Numbers continued to decline at a slower rate until the following autumn (May) when they began to increase again. Observations on the decline of worm burdens in a group of animals which had been moved from pasture to worm-free conditions in October indicated that intake of infective larvae over late spring/summer contributed little to the number of arrested Ostertagia spp. in the herd. No clinical Type II ostertagiosis was observed in the field-grazed animals over the time of decline of the arrested worm burden, nor was there an increase in the number of adult Ostertagia spp. present. However, two of the animals removed from pasture to worm-free conditions developed Type II ostertagiosis approximately a month after the move. Worm burdens of successive groups of "tracers" grazed with the herd every 2 months indicated that there was a small seasonal increase in the propensity of Ostertagia spp. for arrested development. However, estimated accumulation rates of arrested larvae calculated from tracer worm burdens, suggest that this seasonal increase in propensity was not adequate in itself to account for the accumulation rate observed in "resident" animals of the herd. No comparable accumulation of arrested C. oncophora took place in resident animals over the first autumn and winter of the trial despite the fact that tracer worm burdens over this period indicated a marked seasonal increase in the propensity for arrested development by this species.