A Comparative Study of Mini-FLOTAC With Traditional Coprological Techniques in the Analysis of Cetacean Fecal Samples

Abstract

Free-ranging cetaceans are considered sentinels for the marine ecosystem's health. New and non-invasive methods have been set up for the collection of fecal samples from free-ranging big whales at sea, permitting to gain an excellent epidemiological picture of parasitic infections in wild populations. To select the best protocol to be used for copromicroscopic examination in cetaceans stool samples, we evaluated the sensitivity of two commonly used techniques, i.e., a sedimentation-floatation method and the Mini-FLOTAC through validation by helminth isolation from the digestive tract. For this aim, gastrointestinal content and fecal samples were collected during necropsy from 44 cetaceans, including bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), pilot whale (Globicephala melas), and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). Helminths were recovered through washing and filtering of the gastrointestinal contents and morphologically identified. Copromicroscopic examinations were performed on formalin-preserved fecal samples, using a sodium nitrate, sodium thiosulphate, and sucrose solution (s.g. = 1.450) for both methods. Helminths belonging to 9 taxa (i.e., the trematodes Synthesium tursionis, Synthesium delamurei, Campula palliata, Braunina cordiformis, Pholeter gastrophilus, the nematode Anisakis sp., cestodes of the family Tetrabothriidae and the acanthocephalan Bolbosoma sp.) were isolated. Eggs referable to the same taxa, with the exception of cestodes, were found in copromicroscopic analyses. Sensitivity of the Mini-FLOTAC method appeared higher or equal for all taxa, proving superior to the sedimentation-flotation method for the detection of all except Anisakis sp. The concordance of the two tests indeed revealed a moderate to perfect agreement (kappa values 0.42–1). Not excluding the limitations inherent to the techniques themselves, explanations for false-negative results at copromicroscopy could be linked to parasite-related factors, including prepatent infections, low parasitic burdens, or intermittent egg shedding. Notwithstanding these limitations, this study evidenced that the Mini-FLOTAC protocol approximates more accurately the composition of the gastrointestinal helminthic community of cetaceans from copromicroscopic examination, providing at the same time a quantitative estimation.

Gastrointestinal parasite assemblages from the wild rodent capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) inhabiting a natural protected area from Argentina

“…In the particular case of the MF method, MF has proven to be an innovative, sensitive, and cost-effective technique for diagnosing intestinal helminths, particularly in veterinary parasitology. In recent years, numerous studies have highlighted its potential for quantitatively monitoring parasite infections in wildlife populations (Alvarado-Villalobos et al 2017; Catalano et al 2019; Lobos-Ovalle et al 2021; Coker et al 2020; Marcer et al 2022; Johnson et al 2022), including rodents (Carrera-Jativa et al 2023; Catalano et al 2019; Lima et al 2017). Specifically in rodent studies, FLOTAC and Mini-FLOTAC have emerged as sensitive and reliable tools for conducting future studies, reducing the need for lethal sampling methods and facilitating the comparison of communities and epidemiology over time.…”

“…It is a more sensitive, precise, and accurate methodology. A simplified version, the Mini-FLOTAC technique, involves fewer preparation steps and is employed for routine parasitological diagnosis in various animal species (Barda et al 2013a,b; Maurelli et al 2014; Alvardo-Villalobos et al 2017; Lobos-Ovalle et al 2021; Coker et al 2020; Marcer et al 2022; Johnson et al 2022), including rodents (Catalano et al 2019; Carrera-Jativa et al 2023; Lima et al 2017). However, there still is a lack of consensus on the optimal protocol for diagnosing coccidia and helminth infections in resource-scarce settings, a common challenge when studying many wild mammals.…”

Studi Koprologi Infeksi Trematoda pada Penyu Hijau yang Direhabilitasi di Turtle Conservation and Education Center Bali

“…Dalam penelitian ini, teknik Mini-Flotac® yang dimodifikasi dan dikombinasikan dengan Fill-Flotac® sukses digunakan untuk mendeteksi telur cacing dan jumlah EPG pada feses C. mydas. Teknik Flotac® sebelumnya dilaporkan berhasil digunakan dalam survei koprologi untuk mendeteksi parasit gastrointestinal pada Caretta caretta (Pace et al, 2019), kura-kura (tortoise) (Dipineto et al, 2012), berbagai jenis cetacea (Federica et al, 2022), burung eksotik (Lozano et al, 2021), serta berbagai satwa di kebun binatang (MB da Silva et al, 2022). Sepengetahuan penulis, aplikasi teknik diagnostik koprologi ini pada C. mydas belum pernah dilakukan, dan studi ini tampaknya bisa dianggap sebagai yang pertama kalinya.…”

“…Cringoli et al (2017) menyatakan bahwa kelemahan dari teknik ini adalah rendahnya kemampuan untuk mendeteksi trematoda. Namun demikian, kelemahan ini bisa diatasi dengan mengubah larutan pengapung dari natrium klorida jenuh (NaCl, berat jenis 1.20) dengan pengapung dengan density yang lebih tinggi seperti zinc sulphate (ZnSO4, berat jenis 1.35) (Barda et al, 2014;Catalano et al, 2019;Federica et al, 2022).…”

Perbandingan Teknik Mini-Flotac dan Teknik Flotasi dalam Uji Koproskopis Cacing pada Feses Penyu Hijau

“…Marcer et al, (2022) yang melakukan penelitian perbandingan uji koproskopis pISSN: 2085-2495; eISSN: 2477-2712 Desember 2023 Online pada: http://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/bulvet https://doi.org/10.24843/bulvet.2023.v15.i06.p26…”