Prevalence of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) in Reintroduced Gunnison's Prairie Dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni)
نویسندگان
چکیده
—Fecal samples from 54 Gunnison’s prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) from Albuquerque, NM were analyzed for the presence of coccidia and all were positive. They were then relocated to an abandoned prairiedog town on the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site. Six Eimeria species, E. callospermophili, E. cynomysis, E. pseudospermophili (new host record), E. spermophili, E. ludoviciani and E. vilasi (new host record) were found in Albuquerque animals, but only 2 species, E. callospermophili and E. vilasi were present in relocated hosts. A significant (P , 0.05) reduction was seen in the prevalence of E. vilasi (72% vs. 13%) and in the prevalence of infections (P , 0.05) with 2 or more Eimeria species (39% vs. 4%) in preand postrelocation animals. To assess the impact of the introduction of C. gunnisoni on the resident rodent population, feces were collected from 6 species of rodents. Five Eimeria species, E. arizonensis (Reithrodontomys), E. chobotari (Dipodomys, Perognathus), E. liomysis (Dipodomys), E. mohavensis (Dipodomys) and E. reedi (Perognathus) were found. We found no evidence of coccidia transfer among introduced and resident rodent species.
منابع مشابه
Flea abundance, diversity, and plague in Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) and their burrows in montane grasslands in northern New Mexico.
Plague, a flea-transmitted infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is a primary threat to the persistence of prairie dog populations (Cynomys spp.). We conducted a 3-yr survey (2004-2006) of fleas from Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) and their burrows in montane grasslands in Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico. Our objectives were to describe flea com...
متن کاملPopulation differences in host immune factors may influence survival of Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) during plague outbreaks.
Over the past 40 yr, epizootics of plague (Yersinia pestis) in northern Arizona have reduced populations of the Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni), with the exception of a large population found in the Aubrey Valley (AV). To examine potential mechanisms accounting for their survival, we collected prairie dog serum samples in 2005-2006 from AV and a neighboring population near Seligman (...
متن کاملGenetic variation at the MHC DRB1 locus is similar across Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) colonies regardless of plague history
Yersinia pestis was introduced to North America around 1900 and leads to nearly 100% mortality in prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies during epizootic events, which suggests this pathogen may exert a strong selective force. We characterized genetic diversity at an MHC class II locus (DRB1) in Gunnison's prairie dog (C. gunnisoni) and quantified population genetic structure at the DRB1 versus 12...
متن کاملThe innate immune response may be important for surviving plague in wild Gunnison's prairie dogs.
Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) are highly susceptible to Yersinia pestis, with ≥99% mortality reported from multiple studies of plague epizootics. A colony of Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) in the Aubrey Valley (AV) of northern Arizona appears to have survived several regional epizootics of plague, whereas nearby colonies have been severely affected by Y. pestis. To examine potential ...
متن کاملDynamics of plague in a Gunnison's prairie dog colony complex from New Mexico.
A plague (Yersinia pestis) epizootic spread through Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni), and possibly other rodent species, in the Moreno Valley in north-central New Mexico between winter 1984-1985 and autumn 1987. We observed the progress of the epizootic and subsequent population recovery at four prairie dog towns within the valley during this period. At two towns (Midlake and Val Ver...
متن کامل