Hu Xiao-Long, Liu Gang, Wei Yu-Ting, Wang Yi-Hua, Zhang Tian-Xiang, Yang Shuang, Hu De-Fu, Liu Shu-Qiang
Laboratory of Non-invasive Research Technology for Endangered Species, College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35 Tsinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China.
Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Haidian District, Beijing 100091, China.
Acta Trop. 2018 Jan;177:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2017.09.021. Epub 2017 Sep 28.
Parasite infections can cause adverse effects on health, survival and welfare of forest musk deer. However, few studies have quantified the parasite infection status and evaluated the parasite temporal dynamics and differences between breeding centers for captive forest musk deer. The purpose of this study was to assess seasonal and regional effects on the parasite prevalence, shedding capacity, diversity, aggregation and infracommunity to establish baseline data on captive forest musk deer. The McMaster technique was applied to count parasite eggs or oocysts in 990 fecal samples collected at three breeding centers located in Qinling Mountains and Tibetan Plateau during spring, summer, and winter. Five gastrointestinal parasite groups were found in musk deer, and Eimeria spp. were dominant (mean oocysts per gram=1273.7±256.3). A positive correlation between Eimeria spp. and Strongyloides spp. (r=0.336, p<0.001) based on shedding capacity data was found, as well as a negative correlation between Eimeria spp. and Moniezia spp. (r=-0.375, p=0.003). Both seasonal and regional differences in diversity, prevalence, shedding capacity, aggregation and infracommunity were observed for five parasite groups. The low level of aggregation and high shedding capacity of Eimeria spp. and Strongyloides spp. might reflect the contaminated environment, and indicate that host-parasite relationships are unstable. The high degree of aggregation of Trichuris spp., Ascaris spp., and Moniezia spp. also suggests that some individual hosts had less ability to resist pathogens and greater transmission potential than others. These conclusions suggest that a focus on disease control strategies could improve the health of forest musk deer in captivity.
寄生虫感染会对林麝的健康、生存和福祉产生不利影响。然而，很少有研究对圈养林麝的寄生虫感染状况进行量化，也没有评估寄生虫的时间动态以及不同繁育中心之间的差异。本研究的目的是评估季节和区域对寄生虫感染率、排泄能力、多样性、聚集性和群落内组成的影响，以建立圈养林麝的基线数据。采用麦克马斯特技术对在秦岭和青藏高原的三个繁育中心于春季、夏季和冬季采集的990份粪便样本中的寄生虫卵或卵囊进行计数。在麝鹿中发现了五个胃肠道寄生虫类群，其中艾美耳属寄生虫占主导地位（每克粪便平均卵囊数=1273.7±256.3）。基于排泄能力数据发现艾美耳属寄生虫与类圆线虫属寄生虫之间呈正相关（r=0.336，p<0.001），艾美耳属寄生虫与莫尼茨绦虫属寄生虫之间呈负相关（r=-0.375，p=0.003）。观察到五个寄生虫类群在多样性、感染率、排泄能力、聚集性和群落内组成方面均存在季节和区域差异。艾美耳属寄生虫和类圆线虫属寄生虫的低聚集水平和高排泄能力可能反映了环境受到污染，表明宿主-寄生虫关系不稳定。毛首线虫属、蛔虫属和莫尼茨绦虫属寄生虫的高度聚集也表明，一些个体宿主抵抗病原体的能力较弱，传播潜力比其他宿主更大。这些结论表明，关注疾病控制策略可以改善圈养林麝的健康状况。
