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Survey on parasitic infections in wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris Schreber, 1777) by scat collection

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Abstract

Wildcats are endangered felid species living in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Regrettably, scientific information on parasites of wildcats is particularly meager and they often rely on data gained by necropsies of a small number of animals. In the present study, scat collection was used to assess the parasite spectrum of European wildcats living in the Etna Park (Sicily, Italy). Scat collection was performed from May to September 2010 by weekly walking four transects for a total of 391 km. Samples were then analyzed by flotation and sedimentation techniques to investigate wildcat parasitic fauna. A total of 121 scats of wildcats were collected, and parasitic forms (i.e., oocysts, eggs, and larvae) were retrieved in 110 (90.9 %) of the samples. Parasites found were Physaloptera sp. (52.1 %), tapeworms (45.5 %), Toxocara cati (43.8 %), Eucoleus aerophilus (27.3 %), Ancylostoma sp. (22.3 %), Troglostrongylus brevior (15.7 %), trematodes (9.9 %), Isospora felis (4.1 %), Cylicospirura sp. (1.7 %), and Acanthocephala (0.8 %). The prevalence of endoparasitic infections herein recorded is similar to that described in other studies conducted using necropsy technique. The species richness of parasites found in the present survey, with a total of nine helminths and one protozoon, is the highest ever reported for wildcat in Europe. Scat collection and examination are reliable and rapid non-invasive tools which can be used in a systematic survey design to study the parasite spectrum of wildcat as well as that of other endangered wild species.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thanks Dr Ettore Randi and Dr Federica Mattucci (Laboratory of genetic, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Bologna, Italy) for the genetic analysis performed for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 98168, Messina, Italy

    Ettore Napoli, Gabriella Gaglio, Salvatore Giannetto & Emanuele Brianti

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università degli Studi di Catania, Via Androne, 81, 95124, Catania, Italy

    Stefano Anile & Carmelo Arrabito

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli, 4-53100, Siena, Italy

    Davide Scornavacca

  4. Dipartimento di Scienze Teoriche e Applicate, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant, 3 - I-21100, Varese, Italy

    Maria Vittoria Mazzamuto

  5. Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Str. prov. per Casamassima km 3, 70010, Valenzano, Bari, Italy

    Domenico Otranto

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  1. Ettore Napoli
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  2. Stefano Anile
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  8. Salvatore Giannetto
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  9. Emanuele Brianti
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Correspondence to Emanuele Brianti.

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Napoli, E., Anile, S., Arrabito, C. et al. Survey on parasitic infections in wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris Schreber, 1777) by scat collection. Parasitol Res 115, 255–261 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4742-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4742-2

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