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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
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Summary

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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

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