School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, 90 South St, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia; Alison Hillman-email; 90 South St, Murdoch, Perth, Australia 6150.
School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, 90 South St, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.
Sci Total Environ. 2017 Dec 31;607-608:1466-1478. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.086. Epub 2017 Jul 26.
Some wildlife species are capable of surviving in urbanised environments. However, the implications of urbanisation on wildlife health, and public health regarding zoonoses, are often unknown. Quenda (syn. southern brown bandicoots, Isoodon obesulus) survive in many areas of Perth, Australia, despite urbanisation. This study investigated differences in gastrointestinal and macroscopic ecto-parasitic infections, morphometrics and reproductive status between bushland and urban dwelling quenda. 287 quenda in the greater Perth region were captured and sampled for faeces (to detect gastrointestinal parasites), blood (to detect Toxoplasma gondii antibodies), ectoparasites, and morphometrics. Data were analysed using multivariable logistic and linear regression. Most parasitic infections identified in quenda were of native parasite taxa that are either not known to, or considered highly unlikely to, infect humans or domestic animals. However, stickfast fleas (Echidnophaga spp.) were present at low prevalences and intensities, and Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Amblyomma spp. infections require further investigation to clarify their anthropozoonotic significance. Quenda captured in urbanised environments had differing odds of or intensity of certain parasitic infections, compared to those in bushland - likely attributable to quenda population density, and in some cases the availability of other host species or anthropogenic sources of infection. Urbanised environments were associated with an increase in net weight of adult male quenda by 189.0g (95% CI 68.6-309.5g; p=0.002; adjusted R=0.06) and adult female quenda by 140.1g (95% CI 3.9-276.3g; p=0.044; adjusted R=0.07), with study findings suggesting a tendency towards obesity in urbanised environments. Adult female quenda in bushland had increased odds of an active pouch (adjusted OR=4.89, 95% CI 1.7-14.5), suggesting decreased reproductive activity in quenda from urbanised environments. These results highlight the subtle, yet extensive impacts that urbanised environments may have on wildlife ecology, even for those species which apparently adjust well to urbanisation.
一些野生动物物种能够在城市化环境中生存。然而，城市化对野生动物健康以及人畜共患病相关的公共卫生的影响往往是未知的。尽管面临城市化的挑战，袋狸（又名南部棕色袋狸，Isoodon obesulus）在澳大利亚珀斯的许多地区仍得以生存。本研究调查了城市和丛林环境中袋狸的胃肠道和外寄生虫感染、形态测量学和生殖状况的差异。在大珀斯地区捕获并采集了 287 只袋狸的粪便（用于检测胃肠道寄生虫）、血液（用于检测刚地弓形虫抗体）、外寄生虫和形态测量学样本。使用多变量逻辑和线性回归分析数据。在袋狸中发现的大多数寄生虫感染都是本地寄生虫类群，这些寄生虫要么未知，要么被认为极不可能感染人类或家畜。然而，刺皮螨（Echidnophaga spp.）的存在率和感染强度较低，而贾第虫属（Giardia spp.）、隐孢子虫属（Cryptosporidium spp.）和美洲钝眼蜱属（Amblyomma spp.）的感染需要进一步研究，以明确其人畜共患病的意义。与丛林环境中的袋狸相比，生活在城市化环境中的袋狸更容易感染某些寄生虫，或感染强度更高，这可能与袋狸种群密度有关，在某些情况下，还可能与其他宿主物种或人为感染源有关。城市化环境与成年雄性袋狸体重增加 189.0 克（95%CI 68.6-309.5 克；p=0.002；调整后的 R=0.06）和成年雌性袋狸体重增加 140.1 克（95%CI 3.9-276.3 克；p=0.044；调整后的 R=0.07）有关，研究结果表明城市化环境中存在肥胖趋势。丛林环境中的成年雌性袋狸有更大的几率处于活跃育儿袋状态（调整后的 OR=4.89，95%CI 1.7-14.5），表明城市化环境中的袋狸繁殖活动减少。这些结果强调了城市化环境对野生动物生态可能产生的微妙而广泛的影响，即使对于那些显然能很好地适应城市化的物种也是如此。
