Genetic diversity within partial 18S rRNA sequences from Hepatozoon protozoan parasites from wild felines in South Africa was assessed and compared with data from domestic cats to assess patterns of host specificity. Lions, leopards, servals, a caracal and an African wildcat were all positive for parasites of the Hepatozoon felis-complex. However, haplotypes were not species-specific, and potential mixed infections were widespread. Additional genetic markers are needed to untangle the extremely complex situation of these parasites in both domestic cats and wild felines in South Africa.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/jsava.v91i0.2055 | DOI Listing |
Proc Biol Sci
January 2025
Nepal Zoological Society, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Understanding factors influencing the spatio-temporal patterns of apex predators is prerequisite for their conservation. We studied space use and diel activity of tigers () in response to prey availability and anthropogenic activities with trail cameras in Nepal during December 2022-March 2023. We used hierarchical occupancy models to evaluate how prey availability (space use of prey species) and anthropogenic activities (number of humans and livestock) contributed to the tigers' space use, while accounting for landscape effects on their detection probability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2025
Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.
Large herbivores are in decline in much of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, and true apex carnivores like the lion () decline in parallel with their prey. As a consequence, competitively subordinate carnivores like the African wild dog () are simultaneously experiencing a costly reduction in resources and a beneficial reduction in dominant competitors. The net effect is not intuitively obvious, but wild dogs' density, survival, and reproduction are all low in areas that are strongly affected by prey depletion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Microbiol
January 2025
Laboratório de Protozoologia e Rickettsioses Vetoriais (ProtozooVet), Faculdade de Veterinária (FAVET), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Electronic address:
Hemoplasma infection significantly impacts felines health, yet there is a research gap regarding free-ranging wild small felids. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the occurrence of hemoplasma in Leopardus geoffroyi and Leopardus wiedii in southern Brazil. For this purpose, we conducted molecular research for Mycoplasma spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports
January 2025
Laboratory of Helminthology, Faculty of Microbiology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Cestodes of the genus Spirometra are multi-host parasites that are the causative agents of spirometrosis in domestic and wild carnivores and sparganosis in humans, endemic diseases in tropical and subtropical regions. In domestic animals, the infection is usually asymptomatic or produces gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting and chronic diarrhoea. In humans, an incidental parasitosis develops where the plerocercoid can lodge in tissues and cause a variety of symptoms, including neuropathies, blindness, paralysis, and death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports
January 2025
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Health Program, 5463 West Broadway, Forest Lake, MN 55025, USA.
During a survey for other parasitic infections, tongue and limb muscles of wild bobcats (Lynx rufus) were examined microscopically from a sample of 190 Minnesota bobcats. One batch (n = 50) was studied in 2015, yielding no cases of Trichinella when examined only with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining of <25 mg of tissue. In a 2024 cohort (n = 140), this method was paired with a compression of ∼5 g of tissue.
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