Geographic Variation in Helminth Parasites from the Digestive Tract of Tennessee Raccoons, Procyon lotor

Abstract

The stomachs and intestinal tracts of 253 raccoons, Procyon lotor, were examined for helminth parasites. Sixteen species of helminths were found including eight trematodes, two cestodes, five nematodes, and one acanthocephalan. Fourteen of these helminths are new geographic records for the state of Tennessee. Multivariate statistical techniques were used to analyze two-state and multistate character sets. Matrices of correlation among characters were computed and the first three principal components were extracted, accounting for 79.7% and 66.5% of the variation in the respective character sets. Three-dimensional projections of Tennessee's eight geographic localities onto two-state and multistate principal components demonstrated that raccoons in western localities were parasitized most heavily by Atriotaenia procyonis. Mesocestoides variabilis, Gnathostoma procyonis, and Pharyngostomoides procyonis. Parallelorchis diglossus, Euparyphium beaveri. Eurytrema procyonis, Euryhelmis squamala, Molineus barbatus, and Macracanthorhynchus ingens were most common to P. lotor from eastern areas.

Patterns in helminth communities: why are birds and fish different?

“…Similarly, other specialized carnivores such as raptors and small mammals are likely to harbour depauperate helminth communities, whereas an omnivore such as a raccoon (Procyon lotor) is likely to have a diverse helminth community. Although we cannot calculate diversity values, species lists of helminths from P. lotor from different, localized populations suggest very high species richness (Harkema & Miller, 1964;Bafundo, Wilhelm & Kennedy, 1980).…”

Metagonimoides oregonensis (Heterophyidae: Digenea) Infection In Pleurocerid Snails and Desmognathus quadramaculatus Salamander Larvae In Southern Appalachian Streams

“…The fitness consequences of these metacercariae on their salamander hosts is not known, but it is clear that raccoons feeding on these stream salamanders could potentially be continually exposed to large numbers of metacercariae. Adult worm burdens can indeed be high, such as the over 2,300 adults reported in a raccoon from Georgia (Schaffer et al, 1961), although M. oregonensis prevalence in raccoon populations in the southeast is typically below 20% (Schaffer et al, 1961;Bafundo et al, 1980). Setting up the life cycle of M. oregonensis in the laboratory for further investigation may be feasible, but it will require a good surrogate definitive host.…”

Infection at an ecotone: cross‐system foraging increases satellite parasites but decreases core parasites in raccoons

“…The raccoon ( Procyon lotor ) is an ideal host with which to test these hypotheses, as it thrives in many habitats and its well‐studied parasites vary by location (e.g., Harkema and Miller , Bafundo et al. , Hoberg and McGee ) and landscape features (e.g., Samson et al. ).…”