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Filarial infections in California sea lions vary spatially within the Gulf of California, Mexico

  • Helminthology - Original Paper
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Abstract

At least two species of filarial worms, Dirofilaria immitis and Acanthocheilonema (Dipetalonema) odendhali, infect otariid pinnipeds, including the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). To date, evidence of infection in sea lions has come from dead or captive animals, and little is known about filariasis in free-living populations. We sampled 45 California sea lion adults and 197 pups captured at 12 rookeries from different ecological regions within the Gulf of California and detected and quantified D. immitis and A. odendhali microfilariae in blood smears. We investigated differences in prevalence and parasite load (intensity of infection) among ecological regions. Microfilariae were detected in the blood of 35 of the 45 (77.78%) adult females and in 1 of the 197 (0.51%) pups examined. The average burden of A. odendhali per microlitre of blood was nearly twice that of D. immitis. Prevalence and intensity of infection differed significantly among regions, being highest for colonies within the northern and northcentral regions and lowest in the southern region. Dirofilaria immitis and A. odendhali infections displayed a similar spatial pattern of prevalence. Colony density inversely predicted the prevalence of microfilariae. Based on the clinical parameters typically associated with filarial infections in carnivores and physical examinations, none of the sea lions appeared to have evidence of disease. This is a first approximation to investigate the prevalence of microfilaria infections in free-ranging California sea lions and to explore their relevance to population health.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Erika Vargas Perusquia for her assistance with grant administration. Diego Ruiz and staff from The Museo de la Ballena y Ciencias del Mar, A. C. provided logistical support during fieldwork.

Funding

This work was supported by CONACYT-Fronteras de la Ciencia [grant number 446] and by the Instituto Politécnico Nacional [Project SIP20160164]. MPF, KAF and AFM were funded by CONACYT [MSc studentship numbers 781009 and 619764; PhD studentship number 287579].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Av. De las Ciencias S/N. Juriquilla, 76230, Santiago de Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico

    Mónica Farriols, Fausto Arellano-Carbajal, Etzel Garrido, Roberto C. Álvarez-Martínez, Rolando T. Bárcenas, Adriana E. Flores-Morán & Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse

  2. Department of Fisheries and Marine Biology, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (CICIMAR-IPN), La Paz, Mexico

    Fernando R. Elorriaga-Verplancken & Karen Adame-Fernández

  3. The Marine Mammal Center, 2000 Bunker Road, Sausalito, CA, 94965, USA

    Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse

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  1. Mónica Farriols
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Correspondence to Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse.

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All procedures were approved by the Bioethics committee of the Autonomous University of Queretaro (Mexico) and were conducted under permit SGPA/ DGVS/09004/15 issued by the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales through the Dirección General de Vida Silvestre in Mexico.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Farriols, M., Arellano-Carbajal, F., Elorriaga-Verplancken, F.R. et al. Filarial infections in California sea lions vary spatially within the Gulf of California, Mexico. Parasitol Res 119, 1281–1290 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06638-y

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