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Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Strongyle Parasites in a Group of Translocated, Wild-Captured Asiatic Wild Asses in Kazakhstan

Asiatic wild ass (Kulan, Equus hemionus) population range and numbers became severely reduced and a reintroduction project is currently aiming to re-establish a population in the Central Steppe of Kazakhstan. Pre-emptive deworming is often recommended for equid translocations but eliminating parasit...

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Autores principales: Gliga, Diana S., Petrova, Natalia, Linnell, John D. C., Salemgareyev, Albert R., Zuther, Steffen, Walzer, Chris, Kaczensky, Petra
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7759666/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33363236
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.598371
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author Gliga, Diana S.
Petrova, Natalia
Linnell, John D. C.
Salemgareyev, Albert R.
Zuther, Steffen
Walzer, Chris
Kaczensky, Petra
author_facet Gliga, Diana S.
Petrova, Natalia
Linnell, John D. C.
Salemgareyev, Albert R.
Zuther, Steffen
Walzer, Chris
Kaczensky, Petra
author_sort Gliga, Diana S.
collection PubMed
description Asiatic wild ass (Kulan, Equus hemionus) population range and numbers became severely reduced and a reintroduction project is currently aiming to re-establish a population in the Central Steppe of Kazakhstan. Pre-emptive deworming is often recommended for equid translocations but eliminating parasites prior to translocation could cause disruptions in a balanced host-parasite relationship, adding an additional stressor to an already stressful intervention involving capture, transport, and adaptation to a new environment. Following a disease risk assessment, we decided against pre-emptive deworming and focused on monitoring the first group of nine translocated kulan in a large acclimatization enclosure prior to release. Over the 5-month acclimatization period, we regularly collected fecal samples and analyzed the shedding intensity of gastro-intestinal parasite eggs, obtained time budgets through behavioral observations, and visually assessed body condition. We identified strongyles (Strongylinae and Cyathostominae) and pinworms (Oxyuris equi) in fecal samples. All individuals shed strongyle eggs and two of the nine individuals had higher shedding intensities, but rarely reached levels for which deworming is recommended. All kulan appeared healthy throughout the observation period, aggressive interactions were very rare, and time budgets were very similar and dominated by feeding. Our results suggest that in translocation projects where the risk of introducing new parasites is minimal, pre-emptive treatment in wild equids can be replaced with non-invasive monitoring during the acclimatization period. We acknowledge that the small number of kulan, the large size of the enclosure, and the low temperatures during the animals stay in the acclimatization enclosure may all have reduced infestation pressure.
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spelling pubmed-77596662020-12-26 Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Strongyle Parasites in a Group of Translocated, Wild-Captured Asiatic Wild Asses in Kazakhstan Gliga, Diana S. Petrova, Natalia Linnell, John D. C. Salemgareyev, Albert R. Zuther, Steffen Walzer, Chris Kaczensky, Petra Front Vet Sci Veterinary Science Asiatic wild ass (Kulan, Equus hemionus) population range and numbers became severely reduced and a reintroduction project is currently aiming to re-establish a population in the Central Steppe of Kazakhstan. Pre-emptive deworming is often recommended for equid translocations but eliminating parasites prior to translocation could cause disruptions in a balanced host-parasite relationship, adding an additional stressor to an already stressful intervention involving capture, transport, and adaptation to a new environment. Following a disease risk assessment, we decided against pre-emptive deworming and focused on monitoring the first group of nine translocated kulan in a large acclimatization enclosure prior to release. Over the 5-month acclimatization period, we regularly collected fecal samples and analyzed the shedding intensity of gastro-intestinal parasite eggs, obtained time budgets through behavioral observations, and visually assessed body condition. We identified strongyles (Strongylinae and Cyathostominae) and pinworms (Oxyuris equi) in fecal samples. All individuals shed strongyle eggs and two of the nine individuals had higher shedding intensities, but rarely reached levels for which deworming is recommended. All kulan appeared healthy throughout the observation period, aggressive interactions were very rare, and time budgets were very similar and dominated by feeding. Our results suggest that in translocation projects where the risk of introducing new parasites is minimal, pre-emptive treatment in wild equids can be replaced with non-invasive monitoring during the acclimatization period. We acknowledge that the small number of kulan, the large size of the enclosure, and the low temperatures during the animals stay in the acclimatization enclosure may all have reduced infestation pressure. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-12-11 /pmc/articles/PMC7759666/ /pubmed/33363236 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.598371 Text en Copyright © 2020 Gliga, Petrova, Linnell, Salemgareyev, Zuther, Walzer and Kaczensky. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Veterinary Science
Gliga, Diana S.
Petrova, Natalia
Linnell, John D. C.
Salemgareyev, Albert R.
Zuther, Steffen
Walzer, Chris
Kaczensky, Petra
Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Strongyle Parasites in a Group of Translocated, Wild-Captured Asiatic Wild Asses in Kazakhstan
title Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Strongyle Parasites in a Group of Translocated, Wild-Captured Asiatic Wild Asses in Kazakhstan
title_full Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Strongyle Parasites in a Group of Translocated, Wild-Captured Asiatic Wild Asses in Kazakhstan
title_fullStr Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Strongyle Parasites in a Group of Translocated, Wild-Captured Asiatic Wild Asses in Kazakhstan
title_full_unstemmed Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Strongyle Parasites in a Group of Translocated, Wild-Captured Asiatic Wild Asses in Kazakhstan
title_short Dynamics of Gastro-Intestinal Strongyle Parasites in a Group of Translocated, Wild-Captured Asiatic Wild Asses in Kazakhstan
title_sort dynamics of gastro-intestinal strongyle parasites in a group of translocated, wild-captured asiatic wild asses in kazakhstan
topic Veterinary Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7759666/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33363236
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.598371
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