Altered parasite community structure in an endangered marsupial following translocation

Abstract

Fauna translocations play an integral role in the management of threatened wildlife, though we are limited by our understanding of how the host-parasite community changes during translocation. During this longitudinal field-based study, we monitored gastrointestinal, blood-borne and ectoparasite taxa infecting woylies ( Bettongia penicillata ) for up to 12 months following two fauna translocations to supplement existing wild woylie populations in three different sites (Dryandra, Walcott and Warrup East) within the south-west of Western Australia. We aimed to (a) identify changes in parasite community structure of both translocated and resident woylies following translocation; and (b) evaluate the efficacy of ivermectin treatment in translocated hosts. Destination site and time since translocation had the strongest effects on parasite prevalence and mean faecal egg counts following translocation. Ivermectin treatment did not significantly reduce parasite prevalence or mean faecal egg counts in treated hosts. Prior to translocation, parasite community composition differed significantly between woylies selected for translocation and resident woylies within each release site. Following translocation, the parasite communities of translocated and resident hosts converged to become more similar over time, with loss of parasite taxa and novel host-parasite associations emerging. This is the first study to examine changes to the broader parasite community in translocated and resident animals following translocation. The dominant site-specific response of parasites following translocation reinforces the importance of incorporating parasite studies to enhance our fundamental understanding of perturbations in host-parasite systems during translocation, in particular the site-level drivers of parasite dynamics.

A global parasite conservation plan

“…In particular, such protocols could consider the effects of parasites on the host species, the different transmission strategies and life cycles employed by parasites, and how those details impact parasite conservation actions. Assessments could also include the minimum viable host population size required and how this changes depending on parasite or host (Dougherty et al, 2016;Moir et al, 2012), the timing of parasite translocations (Plein et al, 2016), and the influence of augmenting host populations on parasite dynamics (Northover et al, 2019). Post-translocation monitoring plans that allow some assessment of the effectiveness of the management approach for both hosts and parasites are also needed.…”

Staphylococcus aureus lineages associated with a free-ranging population of the fruit bat Pteropus livingstonii retained over 25 years in captivity

“…Captive animals experience a change in diet and environment, as well as exposure to exotic species (including humans) and antimicrobials, any of which may cause indirect harm through perturbations to the animal’s resident microflora and threaten the chances of successful release 5 . However, little is known about how these microbial communities change as a result of captivity, nor what the consequences of this may be 6 .…”

In an arms race between host and parasite, a lungworm's ability to infect a toad is determined by host susceptibility not parasite preference

“…In turn, such divergences can rapidly generate variation in a parasite's traits, including infectivity [7], causing geographic and temporal mosaics in host–parasite traits [2]. In this way, invasions can substantially alter the dynamics of coevolutionary relationships [8,9]. However, teasing apart these temporally and spatially dynamic relationships remains challenging.…”