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Culda CA, Dionnet R, Barbu AC, Cârstolovean AS, Dan T, Grijalva J, Espin P, Vinueza RL, Cruz M, Páez-Rosas D, Renato L, Mihalca AD. The Presence of Dirofilaria immitis in Domestic Dogs on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos. Pathogens 2022; 11:1287. [PMID: 36365038 PMCID: PMC9696258 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11111287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
This study's concept was outlined around the principle of conservation medicine in a biodiversity hotspot from the Neotropical realm: the Galapagos Islands. The wildlife balance has been modified by multi-host parasites introduced with some domestic animals (dogs and cats). The endemic and endangered species, the Galapagos sea lion (GSL, Zalophus wollebaeki), has been exposed to pathogens of canine and feline origin that could become a significant conservation problem for this species. One of these potential cases is the filarial heartworm infection, Dirofilaria immitis, which has been reported on other pinnipeds, with fatalities and clinical symptoms. Therefore, this study evaluated the presence of the microfilaria of D. immitis in dogs from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island, where the largest rookery of GSLs lives and where the proximity to domestic dogs is the most intimate compared to other rookeries of the archipelago. Between July and September 2021, 587 blood samples were collected from owned dogs of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Overall, 10 dogs (1.7%) were positive for the presence of the microfilaria of D. immitis with a confidence interval of 0.7%-2.8%. No other filarial species were identified. Significant differences in prevalence between different dog categories were observed only for the age (p = 0.001). This study represents the first report of D. immitis, the agent of canine heartworm disease, in dogs from San Cristobal Island. Hence, the presence of the microfilaria of D. immitis in the blood of dogs could increase the risk of infection to which the GSL is exposed in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Andreea Culda
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Romane Dionnet
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Andra Celia Barbu
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Andrada Silvia Cârstolovean
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Teodora Dan
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Jaime Grijalva
- Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Cumbayá, Quito 150157, Ecuador
| | - Priscilla Espin
- Agencia de Regulación y Control de la Bioseguridad y Cuarentena para Galápagos, Isla San Cristóbal 200152, Galápagos, Ecuador
| | - Rommel Lenin Vinueza
- Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Cumbayá, Quito 150157, Ecuador
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica & Medicina Tropical LEMMT, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Cumbayá, Quito 150157, Ecuador
| | - Marylin Cruz
- Agencia de Regulación y Control de la Bioseguridad y Cuarentena para Galápagos, Isla San Cristóbal 200152, Galápagos, Ecuador
| | - Diego Páez-Rosas
- Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Isla San Cristóbal 200150, Islas Galápagos, Ecuador
- Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos, Unidad Técnica Operativa San Cristóbal, Isla San Cristóbal 200150, Islas Galápagos, Ecuador
| | - Leon Renato
- Laboratorio de Entomología Médica & Medicina Tropical LEMMT, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Cumbayá, Quito 150157, Ecuador
| | - Andrei Daniel Mihalca
- Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Chaves JA, Lopes F, Martínez D, Cueva DF, Gavilanes GI, Bonatto SL, de Oliveira LR, Páez-Rosas D. Population Genetics and Phylogeography of Galapagos Fur Seals. Front Genet 2022; 13:725772. [PMID: 35664327 PMCID: PMC9160918 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.725772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Pinnipeds found across islands provide an ideal opportunity to examine the evolutionary process of population subdivision affected by several mechanisms. Here, we report the genetic consequences of the geographic distribution of rookeries in Galapagos fur seals (GFS: Arctocephalus galapagoensis) in creating population structure. We show that rookeries across four islands (nine rookeries) are genetically structured into the following major groups: 1) a western cluster of individuals from Fernandina; 2) a central group from north and east Isabela, Santiago, and Pinta; and possibly, 3) a third cluster in the northeast from Pinta. Furthermore, asymmetric levels of gene flow obtained from eight microsatellites found migration from west Isabela to Fernandina islands (number of migrants Nm = 1), with imperceptible Nm in any other direction. Our findings suggest that the marked structuring of populations recovered in GFS is likely related to an interplay between long-term site fidelity and long-distance migration in both male and female individuals, probably influenced by varying degrees of marine productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime A. Chaves
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Pampite, Quito, Ecuador
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Jaime A. Chaves,
| | - Fernando Lopes
- Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), São Leopoldo, Brazil
| | - Daniela Martínez
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Pampite, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Dario F. Cueva
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Pampite, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Gabriela I. Gavilanes
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Pampite, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Sandro L. Bonatto
- Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Larissa Rosa de Oliveira
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), São Leopoldo, Brazil
- Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul (GEMARS), Torres, Brazil
| | - Diego Páez-Rosas
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Pampite, Quito, Ecuador
- Unidad Técnica Operativa San Cristóbal, Dirección Parque Nacional Galápagos, San Cristobal-Galapagos, Ecuador
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OUP accepted manuscript. J Mammal 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyac023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Zenth F, DeRango EJ, Krüger O, Piedrahita P, Páez-Rosas D, Schwarz JF. More than the sum of its parts: individual behavioural phenotypes of a wild pinniped. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Blakeway JA, Arnould JPY, Hoskins AJ, Martin-Cabrera P, Sutton GJ, Huckstadt LA, Costa DP, Páez-Rosas D, Villegas-Amtmann S. Influence of hunting strategy on foraging efficiency in Galapagos sea lions. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11206. [PMID: 33954042 PMCID: PMC8051337 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The endangered Galapagos sea lion (GSL, Zalophus wollebaeki) exhibits a range of foraging strategies utilising various dive types including benthic, epipelagic and mesopelagic dives. In the present study, potential prey captures (PPC), prey energy consumption and energy expenditure in lactating adult female GSLs (n = 9) were examined to determine their foraging efficiency relative to the foraging strategy used. Individuals displayed four dive types: (a) epipelagic (<100 m; EP); or (b) mesopelagic (>100 m; MP) with a characteristic V-shape or U-shape diving profile; and (c) shallow benthic (<100 m; SB) or (d) deep benthic (>100 m; DB) with square or flat-bottom dive profiles. These dive types varied in the number of PPC, assumed prey types, and the energy expended. Prey items and their energetic value were assumed from previous GSL diet studies in combination with common habitat and depth ranges of the prey. In comparison to pelagic dives occurring at similar depths, when diving benthically, GSLs had both higher prey energy consumption and foraging energy expenditure whereas PPC rate was lower. Foraging efficiency varied across dive types, with benthic dives being more profitable than pelagic dives. Three foraging trip strategies were identified and varied relative to prey energy consumed, energy expended, and dive behaviour. Foraging efficiency did not significantly vary among the foraging trip strategies suggesting that, while individuals may diverge into different foraging habitats, they are optimal within them. These findings indicate that these three strategies will have different sensitivities to habitat-specific fluctuations due to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica-Anne Blakeway
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia
| | - John P Y Arnould
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia
| | | | | | - Grace J Sutton
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia
| | - Luis A Huckstadt
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, United States of America
| | - Daniel P Costa
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, United States of America
| | - Diego Páez-Rosas
- Universidad San Francisco de Quito and Galapagos Science Center, Islas Galápagos, Ecuador.,Dirección Parque Nacional Galápagos, Oficina Técnica Operativa San Cristóbal, Islas Galápagos, Ecuador
| | - Stella Villegas-Amtmann
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, United States of America
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Walsh JT, Kovaka K, Vaca E, Weisberg DS, Weisberg M. The effects of human exposure on Galápagos sea lion behavior. WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.2981/wlb.00778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin T. Walsh
- J. T. Walsh (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9989-7089), Dept of Biology, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Karen Kovaka
- K. Kovaka, Dept of Philosophy, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Ernesto Vaca
- E. Vaca, San Cristóbal Association of Naturalist Guides, San Cristóbal, Ecuador
| | - Deena Skolnick Weisberg
- D. S. Weisberg, Dept of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Villanova Univ., Villanova, PA, USA
| | - Michael Weisberg
- M. Weisberg (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3944-1167) ✉ , Dept of Philosophy, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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DeRango EJ, Schwarz JF, Kalberer S, Piedrahita P, Páez-Rosas D, Krüger O. Intrinsic and maternal traits influence personality during early life in Galápagos sea lion, Zalophus wollebaeki, pups. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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