The level of infection with gastro−intestinal nematodes in Svalbard reindeers from Hornsund area, Spitsbergen

Abstract: Eighty five faecal samples of the Svalbard reindeer inhabiting the coastal terrace of the northern side of Hornsund were collected in July 2005 and analyzed coprologically. The standard flotation method revealed a 97.6 % prevalence of infection at an average inten− sity of 20 eggs in a single subsample. The quantitative, modified McMaster method helped to estimate the mean number of eggs in a gram of faeces (EPG) at 134.7. In the studied sam− ples eggs of nematodes representing two species, i.e. Ostertagia gruehneri (97.6%, on aver− age 20 eggs in a sample) and Marshallagia marshalli (2.3%, single eggs), were identified. Key words: Arctic, Spitsbergen, faecal analysis, gastro−intestinal nematodes