Seasonal epidemiology of gastrointestinal nematodes of cattle in the northern continental climate zone of western Canada as revealed by internal transcribed spacer-2 ribosomal DNA nemabiome barcoding

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) epidemiology is changing in many regions of the world due to factors such as global warming and emerging anthelmintic resistance. However, the dynamics of these changes in northern continental climate zones are poorly understood due to a lack of empirical data. METHODS: We studied the accumulation on pasture of free-living infective third-stage larvae (L3) of different GIN species from fecal pats deposited by naturally infected grazing cattle. The field study was conducted on three organic farms in Alberta, western Canada. Grass samples adjacent to 24 fecal pats were collected from each of three different pastures on each farm. Internal transcribed spacer-2 nemabiome metabarcoding was used to determine the GIN species composition of the harvested larvae. The rotational grazing patterns of the cattle ensured that each pasture was contaminated only once by fecal pat deposition. This design allowed us to monitor the accumulation of L3 of specific GIN species on pastures under natural climatic conditions without the confounding effects of pasture recontamination or anthelmintic treatments. RESULTS: In seven out of the nine pastures, grass L3 counts peaked approximately 9 weeks after fecal deposition and then gradually declined. However, a relatively large number of L3 remained in the fecal pats at the end of the grazing season. Nemabiome metabarcoding revealed that Cooperia oncophora and Ostertagia ostertagi were the two most abundant species on all of the pastures and that the dynamics of larval accumulation on grass were similar for both species. Daily precipitation and temperature across the whole sampling period were similar for most of the pastures, and multiple linear regression showed that accumulated rainfall 1 week prior to sample collection had a significant impact on the pasture L3 population, but accumulated rainfall 3 weeks prior to sample collection did not. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the pasture L3 population was altered by short-term microclimatic conditions conducive for horizontal migration onto grass. Overall, the results show the importance of the fecal pat as a refuge and reservoir for L3 of cattle GIN on western Canadian pastures, and provide an evidence base for the risk assessment of rotational grazing management in the region. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-021-05101-w.