Temporal and spatial dynamics of gastrointestinal parasite infection in Père David's deer

Shanghua Xu; Shumiao Zhang; Xiaolong Hu; Baofeng Zhang; Shuang Yang; Xin Hu; Shuqiang Liu; Defu Hu; Jiade Bai

doi:10.7717/peerj.11335

Temporal and spatial dynamics of gastrointestinal parasite infection in Père David's deer

PeerJ. 2021 May 5:9:e11335. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11335. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Shanghua Xu^#¹, Shumiao Zhang^#², Xiaolong Hu³, Baofeng Zhang¹, Shuang Yang¹, Xin Hu⁴, Shuqiang Liu¹, Defu Hu¹, Jiade Bai²

Affiliations

¹ School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
² Department of Research, Beijing Milu Ecological Research Center, Beijing, China.
³ College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
⁴ Beijing Key Laboratory of Captive Wildlife Technologies, Beijing Zoo, Beijing, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: The Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) population was established from only a small number of individuals. Their genetic diversity is therefore relatively low and transmissible (parasitic) diseases affecting them merit further attention. Parasitic infections can affect the health, survival, and population development of the host. However, few reports have been published on the gastrointestinal parasites of Père David's deer. The aims of this study were: (1) to identify the intestinal parasites groups in Père David's deer; (2) to determine their prevalence and burden and clarify the effects of different seasons and regions on various indicators of Père David's deer intestinal parasites; (3) to evaluate the effects of the Père David's deer reproductive period on these parasites; (4) to reveal the regularity of the parasites in space and time.

Methods: In total, 1,345 Père David's deer faecal samples from four regions during four seasons were tested using the flotation (saturated sodium nitrate solution) to identify parasites of different genus or group, and the McMaster technique to count the number of eggs or oocysts.

Results: Four groups of gastrointestinal parasites were found, of which strongyles were dominant; their prevalence and burden were significantly higher than other groups. Significant temporal and spatial effects on gastrointestinal parasitic infection were found. Parasite diversity, prevalence, parasite burden, and aggregation were the highest in summer. Among the four regions, parasite diversity, prevalence, and burden were the highest in the Dongting Lake area. In addition, parasite diversity and burden during the reproductive period of Père David's deer was significantly higher than during the post-reproductive period.

Conclusions: The summer season and the reproductive period of Père David's deer had great potential for parasite transmission, and there is a high risk of parasite outbreaks in the Dongting Lake area.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal parasites; Père David’s deer; Reproductive period; Temporal and spatial variation.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Beijing Milu Ecological Research Center (Grant No. 2017HXFWBHQ.LSQ.01). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.