Addressing a Knowledge Gap in Spilogale Disease Ecology: Skunk Cranial Worm, Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum, in Spilogale putorius interrupta

LaRose, Summer H.; Lesmeister, Damon B.; Gompper, Matthew E.

doi:10.1656/058.020.0sp1114

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Furthermore, this signifies the importance of these kill sites and carrion as food resources that are worth the risks associated with being near or directly encountering larger predators (Allen et al, 2016; Briffa & Sneddon, 2007; Ruprecht et al, 2021). Finally, we identified possible direct and indirect pathways for transmission of nematode parasites such as Skrjabingylus spp., which require spotted skunks as definitive hosts to complete their life cycle (Higdon & Gompper, 2020; Kirkland Jr. & Kirkland, 1983; LaRose et al, 2021; Lesmeister, Millspaugh, et al, 2008). Western spotted skunks have been shown to exhibit a high prevalence and high severity of Skrjabingylus spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐locus DNA metabarcoding reveals seasonality of foraging ecology of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest

et al. 2023

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There are increasing concerns about the declining population trends of small mammalian carnivores around the world. Their conservation and management are often challenging due to limited knowledge about their ecology and natural history. To address one of these deficiencies for western spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis), we investigated their diet in the Oregon Cascades of the Pacific Northwest during 2017–2019. We collected 130 spotted skunk scats opportunistically and with detection dog teams and identified prey items using DNA metabarcoding and mechanical sorting. Western spotted skunk diet consisted of invertebrates, such as wasps, millipedes, and gastropods; vertebrates, such as small mammals, amphibians, and birds; and plants, such as Gaultheria, Rubus, and Vaccinium. Diet also consisted of items, such as black‐tailed deer, that were likely scavenged. Comparison in diet by season revealed that spotted skunks consumed more insects during the dry season (June–August), particularly wasps (75% of scats in the dry season), and marginally more mammals during the wet season (September–May). We observed a similar diet in areas with no record of human disturbance and areas with a history of logging at most spatial scales, but scats collected in areas with older forest within a skunk's home range (1‐km buffer) were more likely to contain insects. Western spotted skunks provide food web linkages between aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal systems and serve functional roles of seed dispersal and scavenging. Due to their diverse diet and prey switching, western spotted skunks may dampen the effects of irruptions of prey, such as wasps, during dry springs and summers. By studying the natural history of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest forests, while they are still abundant, we provide key information necessary to achieve the conservation goal of keeping this common species common.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐locus DNA metabarcoding reveals seasonality of foraging ecology of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest

et al. 2023

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“…Finally, we identified possible pathways for transmission of nematode parasites such as Skrjabingylus spp. which require spotted skunks as definitive hosts to complete their life cycle (Kirkland Jr. and Kirkland 1983; Higdon and Gompper 2020; LaRose, Lesmeister, and Gompper 2021; Lesmeister et al 2008). Western spotted skunks have been shown to exhibit high prevalence and high severity of Skrjabingylus spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Western spotted skunks provide important food web linkages in forest of the Pacific Northwest

Tosa

Lesmeister

Terborgh

2022

Preprint

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There are increasing concerns about the decreasing population trends of small mammalian carnivores around the world. With limited knowledge about their ecology and natural history, small mammal conservation and management remains difficult. To address one of these deficiencies for western spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis), we investigated their diet in the Oregon Cascades of the Pacific Northwest during 2017 – 2019. We collected 130 spotted skunk scats opportunistically and with detection dog teams and identified prey items using DNA metabarcoding and mechanical sorting. Western spotted skunk diet consisted of invertebrates such as wasps, millipedes, and gastropods, vertebrates such as small mammals, amphibians, and birds, and plants such as Gaultheria, Rubus, and Vaccinium. Diet also consisted of items such as black-tailed deer that were likely scavenged. Comparison in diet by season revealed that spotted skunks consumed more insects during the dry season (June - August) and marginally more mammals during the wet season (September – May). We observed similar diet in areas with no record of human disturbance and areas with a history of logging. Western spotted skunks provide important food web linkages between aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal systems by facilitating energy and nutrient transfer, and serve important functional roles of seed dispersal and scavenging. Through prey-switching, western spotted skunks may dampen the effects of irruptions of prey, such as wasps during dry springs and summers, which could then provide ecosystem resilience to environmental change.Open Research StatementData are provided as private-for-peer review (shared publicly on a repository). Material is stored at https://github.com/tinytosa/WSpottedSkunkDiet.git and will be published on Dryad if the paper is accepted for publication.

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Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum in a rabies-positive striped skunk in Texas

Myers,

Taylor,

Wilson

et al. 2024

J VET Diagn Invest

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We describe here a case of the sinus roundworm, Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum, found incidentally in a rabies-positive striped skunk ( Mephitis mephitis) in Texas, USA. Skunks serve as a natural definitive host for this metastrongylid nematode in North America, in which infections result in observable damage to the host cranium, where adult parasites reside. Additionally, skunks are considered the primary reservoir of rabies in Texas. In November 2022, the animal was discovered in northern Texas displaying neurologic signs before euthanasia and submission to the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for rabies testing. Direct fluorescent antibody testing indicated that the animal was rabies-positive, and, upon tissue collection, numerous adult nematodes were recovered from the cranium and identified as S. chitwoodorum by morphology and amplification of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. Histologically, we found lymphohistiocytic meningitis in several loci and chronic sinusitis rostral to the cribriform plate. Due to behavioral abnormalities, we additionally tested for Toxoplasma gondii via PCR, but no parasite DNA was detected. Concurrent infection by S. chitwoodorum and rabies virus may contribute to neurologic signs in skunks.

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Addressing a Knowledge Gap in Spilogale Disease Ecology: Skunk Cranial Worm, Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum, in Spilogale putorius interrupta

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Multi‐locus DNA metabarcoding reveals seasonality of foraging ecology of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest

Multi‐locus DNA metabarcoding reveals seasonality of foraging ecology of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest

Western spotted skunks provide important food web linkages in forest of the Pacific Northwest

Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum in a rabies-positive striped skunk in Texas

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