No abstract

Pathogenic Leptospira is widespread in rodents, the most studied reservoir and the main hosts involved in its transmission. In Italy, among rodents, Hystrix cristata (crested porcupine) is the largest species and it is distributed all over the country. In this paper, the isolation and characterization of pathogenic Leptospira spp. from the kidney of H. cristata is reported for the first time. During Autumn 2018, Leptospira detection by real‐time PCR and isolation were performed from kidneys of two died female porcupines (an adult and a porcupette). Only for porcupette kidney sample, real‐time PCR for pathogenic Leptospira tested positive. The isolated strain was identified as Leptospira interrogans serogroup Pomona serovar Pomona, using the three schemes of multilocus sequence typing. The results show that H. cristata could be a Leptospira host. The infection of serovars Pomona could be related to the habitat shared with wild boar, a typical reservoir host for this serovar.

The crested porcupine is a mainly nocturnal mammal that shows both moonlight avoidance and some diurnal motor activity, the latter as an extension of its night-time foraging behaviour. Furthermore, a peculiar daytime behaviour, described as “sunbathing”, was reported as episodic in H. africaeaustralis. Between 2016 and 2019 a camera-trapping monitoring was performed within 10 porcupine settlements in order to detect the diurnal motor activity and to verify and describe the sunbathing behaviour in crested porcupine. Out of 1,003 trap days, a total of 148 events of diurnal motor activity were recorded. The diurnal motor activity occurred throughout the year mainly between December and June from 15:00 to 16:00, with no statistical difference between cubs, youngsters and adults. The sunbathing behaviour was detected for a total of 36 episodes recorded. Sunbathing was performed mainly by cubs. The sunbathing behaviour occurred only between April and June during the hottest hours of the day (11:00 to 12:00). Diurnal motor activity and sunbathing behaviour of porcupine are discussed in relation to food availability and porcupine physiology.

The Italian wolf population in human-modified landscapes has increased greatly in the last few decades. Anthropisation increases the risk of transmission of many zoonotic infections and in this context, control of taeniid cestode species needs to be addressed from a One Health perspective. Predator-prey interactions are at the root of taeniid cestode transmission, and the wolf plays a key role in the maintenance and transmission of taeniids. To date, all available data on the taeniids of wolves in Italy refer to populations living in a wild habitat. Between 2018 and 2019, we investigated taeniids in a wolf pack living in a highly anthropic hilly agro-ecosystem. Thirty-eight faecal samples were collected and analysed, 4 of which were also genetically characterised for individual wolves and belonged to three different animals. Samples collected were analysed microscopically and by molecular analysis in order to identify the taeniid species. Taeniid eggs were detected in 34.2% (13/38) of samples. Within samples positive to taeniid eggs only Echinococcus granulosus s.s. and Taenia hydatigena were identified in 26.3% and 10.5% of the samples, respectively. On microscopic examination, Capillaria spp., Ancylostomatidae and Toxocara canis eggs, Crenosoma vulpis larvae, and coccidian oocysts were also found. The combination of low biodiversity of taeniid species with a high occurrence of E. granulosus s.s. recorded in this study could be the consequence of a deeper link occurring between wolves and livestock in human-modified landscapes than in wild settings.

No abstract

The vegetarian diet of many herbivorous mammals is supplemented with proteins of animal origin, especially in young individuals and in breeding females, to provide key proteins necessary for both growth and breeding. Among porcupine species, only the Cape porcupine ( Hystrix africaeaustralis ) has been observed to consume carrion flesh. From June to August 2019, a pigeon carcass was placed together with corn in 7 study settlements and near 2 monitored capture-traps, in order to assess the carrion flesh feeding habits of the crested porcupine ( Hystrix cristata ) . Scavenging behaviour was recorded on four occasions. All the recorded individuals were adults and at least one was female. This demonstrates that the crested porcupine occasionally does eat flesh. Such evidence raises important questions concerning the relationship between feeding habits and the physiological needs of this herbivorous rodent.

No abstract

Fishmeal (FM) is still the most important protein source in aquafeeds. However, due to the reduction of wild fish stocks used for FM production, its manufacturing it is now unsustainable. Insect meal represents a valid alternative to FM, due to the low carbon footprint of its production and its high nutritional value. The aim of this study was to investigate the potentials of replacing FM with black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) meal (HIM) in aquafeeds, using zebrafish as the animal model. Four diets were formulated with increasing HIM/FM replacement rate (the control diet contained 20% FM). Mortality rates, growth performances, and feed consumptions were measured, and fish intestine samples were collected for histological and enzymatic analysis. After 49 days, all groups almost tripled their initial body weight (cumulative body weight gain ranged between 143.9 and 155.2 mg), and no statistically significant differences among treatments were observed in relation to growth performances and histological traits. Contrarily, trypsin, alkaline phosphatases, and alpha amylase–glucoamylase activities were significantly reduced when the FM replacement rate was increased. In conclusion, HIM may represent an alternative to FM, since no adverse effects were observed when it was included up to 20% in the zebrafish diet, even when replacing 100% of the FM.