Study on the Distribution of Trematode Alaria Alata (Goeze, 1782) in the Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) in Yakutia

Abstract

The results are presented for the study on the distribution of the trematode Alaria alata in the red fox Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) in Yakutia. Sexually mature forms of the trematode Alaria alata were found in the small intestine of the fox, and the prevalence of invasion was 31.6% with an invasion intensity of 52±0.2 specimens. In the last decade, the number of foxes in Yakutia has increased. According to the Republican Department of Hunting Economy, the number of these animals totaled up to 23 thousand specimens in 2020. Sharp fluctuations in the number of foxes in Central Yakutia are associated with a decrease in the number of the Arctic hare (Lepus timidus) and the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus). The number of foxes is greater in the Republic’s "hare" regions of Verkhoyansky, Eveno-Bytantaisky and Kobyaysky uluses, where the dynamics of the number of foxes repeats the "hare" regions with a lag of 2–3 years. Foxes live throughout the territory of Yakutia, usually closer to taiga-lake lowlands with an abundance of meadow-lake, bottomland and shrub habitats where the meadow mouse and the muskrat can be found. The authors find remains of the muskrat, squirrel, chipmunk, pikas, mouse-like rodents and ungulates in the diet of the fox. Additionally, insects, mollusks, berries and herbaceous plants are found among food objects. Red foxes are of significant importance in the epizootology of alariosis as the main source of the trematode spreading in nature.