Community Variation of Gastrointestinal Parasites Found in Urban and Rural Coyotes (Canis latrans) of Calgary, Alberta

Abstract

We compared parasite variation in coyote feces collected in eight urban sites within Calgary, Alberta, to those in six rural sites outside the city limits. Four hundred and sixty fresh fecal samples (< 4 days old) were collected weekly between July 2009 and June 2010. Fecal flotation analysis identified parasites to the level of genus. We calculated parasite richness, diversity, and evenness. Parasite richness was significantly greater in rural than urban sites. Disparities in the parasite community included a significant variation in parasite richness, diversity, and evenness among rural and urban sites. Toxascaris leonina and Cystoisospora spp. were shared among all urban sites, while these species in addition to Taenia-like spp. and Trichuris spp. were shared among all rural sites. Both urban and rural sites yielded evidence of Toxocara canis, Taenia-like spp., and Giardia spp., which are potential zoonotic parasites. Toxocara canis was at highest prevalence in a core urban site, Inglewood Wildlands, which exhibits unique biotic and abiotic characteristics. Factors of exposure to parasites, such as diet, behavior, and environmental factors, are suggested to be most influential on variation in urban and rural coyote parasitism. We suggest coyotes are an important focal species for further research in urban disease ecology, due to the resilient nature of the carnivore and its propensity to co-exist with people and domestic animals.

Gastrointestinal helminths of Coyotes (Canis latrans) from Southeast Nebraska and Shenandoah area of Iowa

“…Since the specific gravity of zinc flotation solution has a direct impact on the recovery of helminth eggs, specifically those of trematode parasite eggs, therefore a lower number of parasite species in this study makes sense as our report is based on the recovery of actual number of adult parasites from the gastrointestinal organ of the animals. For example, we found 7 of the 29 coyotes harboring T. canis which translates to 24.13% abundance of this parasite in coyote populations but others using noninvasive fecal sample examinations reported either higher number of parasites species or a very low abundance of this species depending on the kind of specific gravity of the floating solution used by the researchers [ 1 , 17 - 20 ]. The present investigation is in agreement with the previous report [ 10 ] in terms of the prevalence of various species of Taenia among the coyote populations in Southeast Nebraska.…”

Evolutionary mechanisms shaping MHC variation in sympatric lemurs

“…The possible effect of diet flexibility on the structure and diversity of parasite communities has been previously suggested, e.g. Vitone et al 2004;Chen et al 2008;Watts and Alexander 2012, but remains to be addressed in Cheirogaleidae.…”