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Smart carnivores think twice: Red fox delays scavenging on conspecific carcasses to reduce parasite risk. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021; 243:105462. [PMID: 34602687 PMCID: PMC8464160 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The recent SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has highlighted the need to prevent emerging and re-emerging diseases, which means that we must approach the study of diseases from a One Health perspective. The study of pathogen transmission in wildlife is challenging, but it is unquestionably key to understand how epidemiological interactions occur at the wildlife-domestic-human interface. In this context, studying parasite avoidance behaviours may provide essential insights on parasite transmission, host-parasite coevolution, and energy flow through food-webs. However, the strategies of avoiding trophically transmitted parasites in mammalian carnivores have received little scientific attention. Here, we explore the behaviour of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and other mammalian carnivores at conspecific and heterospecific carnivore carcasses using videos recorded by camera traps. We aim to determine 1) the factors influencing the probability of foxes to practice cannibalism, and 2) whether the scavenging behaviour of foxes differ when facing conspecific vs. heterospecific carcasses. We found that red foxes were generally reluctant to consume mesocarnivore carrion, especially of conspecifics. When recorded, consumption by foxes was delayed several days (heterospecific carcasses) or weeks (conspecific carcasses) after carcass detection. Other mammalian scavengers showed a similar pattern. Also, meat-borne parasite transmission from wild carnivore carcasses to domestic dogs and cats was highly unlikely. Our findings challenge the widespread assumption that cannibalistic or intra-specific scavenging is a major transmission route for Trichinella spp. and other meat-borne parasites, especially for the red fox. Overall, our results suggest that the feeding decisions of scavengers are probably shaped by two main contrasting forces, namely the nutritional reward provided by carrion of phylogenetically similar species and the risk of acquiring meat-borne parasites shared with these species. This study illustrates how the detailed monitoring of carnivore behaviour is essential to assess the epidemiological role of these hosts in the maintenance and dispersion of parasites of public and animal health relevance.
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Understanding potential implications for non-trophic parasite transmission based on vertebrate behavior at mesocarnivore carcass sites. Vet Res Commun 2021; 45:261-275. [PMID: 34176034 PMCID: PMC8235911 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-021-09806-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
High infection risk is often associated with aggregations of animals around attractive resources. Here, we explore the behavior of potential hosts of non-trophically transmitted parasites at mesocarnivore carcass sites. We used videos recorded by camera traps at 56 red fox (Vulpes vulpes) carcasses and 10 carcasses of other wild carnivore species in three areas of southeastern Spain. Scavenging species, especially wild canids, mustelids and viverrids, showed more frequent rubbing behavior at carcass sites than non-scavenging and domestic species, suggesting that they could be exposed to a higher potential infection risk. The red fox was the species that most frequently contacted carcasses and marked and rubbed carcass sites. Foxes contacted heterospecific carcasses more frequently and earlier than conspecific ones and, when close contact occurred, it was more likely to be observed at heterospecific carcasses. This suggests that foxes avoid contact with the type of carcass and time period that have the greatest risk as a source of parasites. Overall, non-trophic behaviors of higher infection risk were mainly associated with visitor-carcass contact and visitor contact with feces and urine, rather than direct contact between visitors. Moreover, contact events between scavengers and carnivore carcasses were far more frequent than consumption events, which suggests that scavenger behavior is more constrained by the risk of acquiring meat-borne parasites than non-trophically transmitted parasites. This study contributes to filling key gaps in understanding the role of carrion in the landscape of disgust, which may be especially relevant in the current global context of emerging and re-emerging pathogens.
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Epidemiological approach to nematode polyparasitism occurring in a sympatric wild ruminant multi-host scenario. J Helminthol 2021; 95:e29. [PMID: 34092269 DOI: 10.1017/s0022149x21000183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The epidemiology behind multi-host/multi-parasite systems is particularly interesting to investigate for a better understanding of the complex dynamics naturally occurring in wildlife populations. We aimed to approach the naturally occurring polyparasitism of gastrointestinal nematodes in a sympatric wild ruminant scenario present in south-east Spain. To this end, the gastrointestinal tract of 252 wild ruminants of four different species (red deer, Cervus elaphus; mouflon, Ovis aries musimon; Iberian ibex, Capra pyrenaica and fallow deer, Dama dama) were studied in Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park (Andalusia, Spain). Of the analysed animals, 81.52% were positive for parasite infection and a total of 29 nematode species were identified. Out of these, 25 species were detected in at least two host species and 11 parasitized all ruminant species surveyed. The multi-host interaction between these nematodes and the four host species is discussed under the perspective of host family-based differences.
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"Weight of evidence" as a tool for evaluating disease in wildlife: An example assessing parasitic infection in Northern bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE 2020; 13:27-37. [PMID: 32793414 PMCID: PMC7415643 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The potential of parasites to affect host abundance has been a topic of heated contention within the scientific community for some time, with many maintaining that issues such as habitat loss are more important in regulating wildlife populations than diseases. This is in part due to the difficulty in detecting and quantifying the consequences of disease, such as parasitic infection, within wild systems. An example of this is found in the Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginanus), an iconic game bird that is one of the most extensively studied vertebrates on the planet. Yet, despite countless volumes dedicated to the study and management of this bird, bobwhite continue to disappear from fields, forest margins, and grasslands across the United States in what some have referred to as “our greatest wildlife tragedy”. Here, we will discuss the history of disease and wildlife conservation, some of the challenges wildlife disease studies face in the ever-changing world, and how a “weight of evidence” approach has been invaluable to evaluating the impact of parasites on bobwhite in the Rolling Plains of Texas. Through this, we highlight the potential of using “weight of the evidence” to better understand the complex effects of diseases on wildlife and urge a greater consideration of the importance of disease in wildlife conservation. Wildlife disease has gained increased recognition as a potentially significant mechanism affecting animal populations. Global change associated with anthropogenic factors may increase the intensity and proliferation of wildlife diseases. Disease effects may be discreet and contextually dependent, confounding efforts to quantify their impacts. A weight of the evidence (WOE) approach evaluates and integrates multiple lines of evidence to identify causal factors. WOE may provide an effective means to discern significant disease impacts, setting foundations for further empirical study.
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Martínez-Rondán FJ, Ruiz de Ybáñez MR, Tizzani P, López-Beceiro AM, Fidalgo LE, Martínez-Carrasco C. The American mink (Neovison vison) is a competent host for native European parasites. Vet Parasitol 2017; 247:93-99. [PMID: 29080772 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2017.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2017] [Revised: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The American mink (Neovison vison) is a mustelid native to North America that was introduced in Europe and the former USSR for fur farming. Throughout the last century, accidental or deliberate escapes of mink from farms caused the establishment of stable feral populations. In fact, the American mink is considered an invasive alien species in 28 European countries. The present study evaluates the gastrointestinal and cardiopulmonary helminth fauna of the American mink in Galicia (NW Spain) to understand its role as a potential reservoir for parasites affecting other autochthonous mustelids. In the period 2008-2014, fifty American mink (35 males and 15 females) of different ages (22 immature and 28 adults) from the provinces of Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra were captured and sacrificed. Eight parasite species were found (6 nematodes and 2 trematodes) with the following prevalences: Molineus patens (68%), Aonchotheca putorii (54%), Crenosoma melesi (10%), Aonchotheca annulosa (8%), Angiostrongylus daskalovi (6%), Aelurostrongylus spp. (2%), Troglotrema acutum (2%) and an unidentified trematode (2%). Eighty-two per cent of the mink harboured helminths, including 15 animals (30%) infected by only one parasite species, 19 (38%) by two species, 5 (10%) by three species and 2 mink (4%) by four species. All helminth species identified are native to European mustelids. Statistical models were used to evaluate if animal characteristics (age, sex and weight), date and capture area influenced the prevalence, intensity or parasite richness. Statistical differences were detected only in models for intensity of M. patens, A. putorii and C. melesi. This is the first report of Angiostrongylus daskalovi, a cardiopulmonary nematode, and A. annulosa, a gastrointestinal nematode specific of rodents, in American mink. Moreover, although the fluke T. acutum has already been cited in American mink, to our knowledge, the present study represents the first report of this trematode in the lung.
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Affiliation(s)
- F J Martínez-Rondán
- Department of Animal Health, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - M R Ruiz de Ybáñez
- Department of Animal Health, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
| | - P Tizzani
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Turin, Italy
| | - A M López-Beceiro
- Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - L E Fidalgo
- Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - C Martínez-Carrasco
- Department of Animal Health, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
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Finnerty PB, Shilton CM, Shine R, Brown GP. Using experimental de-worming to measure the immunological and pathological impacts of lungworm infection in cane toads. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE 2017; 6:310-319. [PMID: 28971017 PMCID: PMC5614598 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2017.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Revised: 09/12/2017] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The immunological and pathological consequences of parasite infection can be more rigorously assessed from experimental manipulation than from correlational studies of natural infections. We used anthelmintic treatment to experimentally decrease intensities of lungworm infection in captive and free-ranging wild cane toads to assess parasite impacts on host immune responses. First, we administered the anthelmintic drug Ivermectin to both infected and uninfected toads, to distinguish drug effects per se from the impacts of killing lungworms. Worms began dying and decomposing <48 h after injection. The only immunological variables that were affected by anthelmintic treatment were bactericidal capacity of the blood which increased in parasitized toads (presumably triggered by decomposing worms in the lungs), and the phagocytic capacity of blood (which increased in both infected and uninfected toads); the latter effect presumably was caused by the injection of Ivermectin per se rather than removal of parasites. Second, we looked at correlates of variation in the infection intensity induced by de-worming (in both captive and free-ranging toads) over an eight-week period. Heavier lungworm infection was associated with increased phagocytic ability of the host's blood, and a reduction in the host's liver mass (and hence, energy stores). Experimental de-worming thus revealed pathological and immunological costs of the presence of lungworms, and of their removal by anthelmintic injection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick B Finnerty
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Catherine M Shilton
- Berrimah Veterinary Laboratories, Northern Territory Government, Berrimah, Northern Territory, 0828, Australia
| | - Richard Shine
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Gregory P Brown
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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Ek-Huchim JP, Aguirre-Macedo ML, Améndola-Pimenta M, Vidal-Martínez VM, Pérez-Vega JA, Simá-Alvarez R, Jiménez-García I, Zamora-Bustillos R, Rodríguez-Canul R. Genetic signature analysis of Perkinsus marinus in Mexico suggests possible translocation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific coast of Mexico. Parasit Vectors 2017; 10:372. [PMID: 28768523 PMCID: PMC5541656 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-017-2304-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The protozoan Perkinsus marinus (Mackin, Owen & Collier) Levine, 1978 causes perkinsosis in the American oyster Crassostrea virginica Gmelin, 1791. This pathogen is present in cultured C. virginica from the Gulf of Mexico and has been reported recently in Saccostrea palmula (Carpenter, 1857), Crassostrea corteziensis (Hertlein, 1951) and Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) from the Mexican Pacific coast. Transportation of fresh oysters for human consumption and repopulation could be implicated in the transmission and dissemination of this parasite across the Mexican Pacific coast. The aim of this study was two-fold. First, we evaluated the P. marinus infection parameters by PCR and RFTM (Ray’s fluid thioglycollate medium) in C. virginica from four major lagoons (Términos Lagoon, Campeche; Carmen-Pajonal-Machona Lagoon complex, Tabasco; Mandinga Lagoon, Veracruz; and La Pesca Lagoon, Tamaulipas) from the Gulf of Mexico. Secondly, we used DNA sequence analyses of the ribosomal non-transcribed spacer (rNTS) region of P. marinus to determine the possible translocation of this species from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mexican Pacific coast. Results Perkinsus marinus prevalence by PCR was 57.7% (338 out of 586 oysters) and 38.2% (224 out of 586 oysters) by RFTM. The highest prevalence was observed in the Carmen-Pajonal-Machona Lagoon complex in the state of Tabasco (73% by PCR and 58% by RFTM) and the estimated weighted prevalence (WP) was less than 1.0 in the four lagoons. Ten unique rDNA-NTS sequences of P. marinus [termed herein the “P. marinus (Pm) haplotype”] were identified in the Gulf of Mexico sample. They shared 96–100% similarity with 18 rDNA-NTS sequences from the GenBank database which were derived from 16 Mexican Pacific coast infections and two sequences from the USA. The phylogenetic tree and the haplotype network showed that the P. marinus rDNA-NTS sequences from Mexico were distant from the rDNA-NTS sequences of P. marinus reported from the USA. The ten rDNA-NTS sequences described herein were restricted to specific locations displaying different geographical connections within the Gulf of Mexico; the Carmen-Pajonal-Machona Pm1 haplotype from the state of Tabasco shared a cluster with P. marinus isolates reported from the Mexican Pacific coast. Conclusions The rDNA-NTS sequences of P. marinus from the state of Tabasco shared high similarity with the reference rDNA-NTS sequences from the Mexican Pacific coast. The high similarity suggests a transfer of oysters infected with P. marinus from the Mexican part of the Gulf of Mexico into the Mexican Pacific coast.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Pablo Ek-Huchim
- Laboratorio de Inmunología y Biología Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN) Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km. 6, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Ma Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo
- Laboratorio de Patología Acuática, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN) Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km. 6, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Monica Améndola-Pimenta
- Laboratorio de Inmunología y Biología Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN) Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km. 6, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Victor Manuel Vidal-Martínez
- Laboratorio de Patología Acuática, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN) Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km. 6, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Juan Antonio Pérez-Vega
- Laboratorio de Inmunología y Biología Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN) Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km. 6, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Raúl Simá-Alvarez
- Laboratorio de Patología Acuática, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN) Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km. 6, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Isabel Jiménez-García
- Instituto Tecnológico de Boca del Rio, Carretera Veracruz-Córdoba Km. 12, 94290, Boca del Río, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Roberto Zamora-Bustillos
- Instituto Tecnológico de Conkal, Antigua Carretera Mérida-Motul Km. 16.3, 97345, Conkal, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Rossanna Rodríguez-Canul
- Laboratorio de Inmunología y Biología Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN) Unidad Mérida, Carretera Antigua a Progreso Km. 6, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
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Haddaway NR, Watson MJ. On the benefits of systematic reviews for wildlife parasitology. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2016; 5:184-91. [PMID: 27617203 PMCID: PMC5005428 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2016.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Revised: 05/15/2016] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are widely accepted as the best means to synthesise quantitative or qualitative scientific evidence. Many scientific fields have embraced these more rigorous review techniques as a means to bring together large and complex bodies of literature and their data. Unfortunately, due to perceived difficulties and unfamiliarity with processes, other fields are not using these options to review their literature. One way to provide guidance for a specific field is to examine critically recent reviews and meta-analyses and to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the various review techniques. In this paper, we examine review papers in the emerging field of wildlife parasitology and compare five different literature review types-configurative narrative review, aggregative scoping review, aggregative literature review, aggregative meta-analysis, and aggregative systematic review. We found that most literature reviews did not adequately explain the methodology used to find the literature under review. We also found that most literature reviews were not comprehensive nor did they critically appraise the literature under review. Such a lack severely reduces the reliability of the reviews. We encourage all authors to consider using systematic reviews in the future, and for authors and peer-reviewers to be aware of the limitations of non-systematic reviews.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neal R. Haddaway
- MISTRA EviEM, Stockholm Environment Institute, Box 24218, 104 51 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maggie J. Watson
- Institute for Land Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia
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