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Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in a coyote (Canis latrans) from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Tissue samples and feces were collected from a dead, adult female coyote (Canis latrans) found at the side of the road in late March 2003 in the Avalon Peninsula region of Newfoundland, Canada. The coyote apparently died of vehicular-related trauma. Samples of lung, brain, heart, liver, and kidney were fixed in formalin and submitted for histologic examination. The entire remaining lung and heart also were submitted for examination. The coyote was diagnosed with moderate, multifocal, granulomatous interstitial pneumonia with eosinophilic vasculitis and many intralesional nematode eggs, larvae, and occasional intravascular adult worms. Adult nematodes recovered from the pulmonary arteries were identified as Angiostrongylus vasorum. Small foci of granulomatous inflammation, often containing nematode eggs and larvae, were scattered in the brain and kidney. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. vasorum infection in a coyote from the only endemic area of infection in North America.

Angiostrongylus↗

Antifertility effect of busulfan and DL-6-(N-2-pipecolinomethyl)-5-hydroxy-indane maleate (PMHI) in coyotes (Canis Latrans ).

Antifertility effects of busulfan were evaluated using adult coyotes. In addition, antifertility effects of PMHI were evaluated in adult males. Adult males and females were alloted randomly to the following treatments: (1) untreated control, (2) a single oral dose of 3 mg busulfan/kg of body weight (BW) or (3) two oral doses of 3 mg busulfan/kg BW given nine days apart. The untreated males were used as controls in both experiments. Additional male coyotes were allotted randomly to PMHI treatments as follows: (1) a single oral dose of 2 mg PMHI/kg BW, or (2) two oral doses of 1 mg PMHI/kg BW given seven days apart. Blood samples were taken from females and serum analyzed for progesterone by radioimmunoassay. Males were hemicastrated (left testicle) 30 days after onset of treatment. The right testicle was removed 30 days later. Testes and epididymides were fixed in 10% buffered formalin and prepared for histologic examination. For females developing corpus luteum (CL), the maximum peak progesterone concentration for those given two doses of busulfan was less (P<0.05) than that for untreated controls and single-dose females (16.9, 22.4 and 26.3 ng/ml, respectively). The double treatment of busulfan prevented more females (4 of 10) from developing CL (P<0.08) than controls (0 of 7) or single-dose females (1 of 9). None of the busulfan-treated male coyotes had histologic evidence of spermatogenesis 60 days after the onset of treatment. The oral dose or doses of PMHI did not result in complete degeneration of seminiferous tubules. Busulfan given orally did not cause any adverse reactions, but orally administered PMHI often induced vomiting within 18 min after treatment. We conclude that busulfan is capable of affecting male and female reproductive parameters, but PMHI appears to have little effect on spermatogenesis in coyotes when given orally in a single- or a double-dose.

Journal Article↗

Using faecal DNA sampling and GIS to monitor hybridization between red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans).

The US Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Red Wolf Recovery Program recognizes hybridization with coyotes as the primary threat to red wolf recovery. Efforts to curb or stop hybridization are hampered in two ways. First, hybrid individuals are difficult to identify based solely on morphology. Second, managers need to effectively search 6000 km(2) for the presence of coyotes and hybrids. We develop a noninvasive method to screen large geographical areas for coyotes and hybrids with maternal coyote ancestry by combining mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of faeces (scat) and geographic information system (GIS) technology. This method was implemented on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (1000 km(2)) in northeastern North Carolina. A total of 956 scats were collected in the spring of 2000 and 2001 and global positioning system (GPS) coordinates were recorded. Seventy-five percent of the scats were assigned to species and five coyote/hybrid scats were detected. Placement of scat location coordinates on a map of the experimental population area revealed that four of the coyote/hybrid scats were detected within the home ranges of sterilized hybrids. The other coyote/hybrid scat indicated the presence of a previously unknown individual. We suggest this method be expanded to include more of the experimental population area and be optimized for use with nuclear markers to improve detection of hybrid and back-crossed individuals.

Animals↗

Bubonic plague from direct exposure to a naturally infected wild coyote.

An 11-year-old boy developed axillary bubonic plague and plague meningitis 3 days after skinning a dead coyote near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The coyoto carcass was recovered 10 days later, and Yersinia pestis was isolated from spleen and marrow of the animal. This is the first report of human plague from exposure to a coyote. A review of experimental and epidemiologic studies suggests that severe plague infection in members of the family Canidae is unusual, and that the risk of acquiring plague from direct contact with coyote tissues is minimal. Nevertheless, certain precautions are outlined for persons working with wild coyotes.

Ampicillin↗

Prevalence of heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis Leidy) in coyotes from five northern California counties.

Prevalence rates of heartworm in coyotes was estimated for five northern California counties by examining hearts of coyotes obtained from federal or private trappers. Prevalence rates range from 8.3-27.3%, but the proportion of infected coyotes can vary between two regions of the same county. In general, it seems that higher infection rates are found in the foothill regions of the Coastal Range and Sierra Nevada, decreasing towards the floor of the Sacramento Valley as well as at higher elevations. The use of coyotes as sentinel animals for detecting natural foci of transmission is postulated.

Animals↗

Osteoarthrosis in a coyote x dog hybrid from Nebraska.

Osteoarthrosis is described in a wild, 14-year-old coyote (Canis latrans) x dog (C. familiaris) hybrid shot in southeastern Nebraska. There was ankylosis of five vertebrae, the head of the left femur was absent, and periarticular osteophytes occurred throughout the skeleton. The age is significant because wild coyotes seldom live beyond 6 years and coyote x dog hybrids are considered to be less fit for survival in the wild than coyotes.

Animals↗

Coyotes and canine heartworm in California.

Adult Dirofilaria immitis were found in the hearts of 43 of 115 coyotes (Canis latrans) trapped within a 50 km radius of the El Dorado County seat. Of mature coyotes, 45% were positive, with worm numbers averaging 9.0 in females and 16.2 in males. D. immitis microfilariae occurred in the peripheral blood and in lung smears. Microfilariae of Dipetalonema reconditum were present in 14 of the coyotes examined (12%). Several coyotes showed enlarged hearts with gross pathological changes.

Animals↗

Experimental salmon poisoning disease in juvenile coyotes (Canis latrans).

Salmon poisoning disease (SPD) was experimentally induced in juvenile coyotes (Canis latrans). The disease was lethal in 11 of 12 coyotes within 15 days after inoculation with 1,000 or 4,000 metacercariae of Nanophyetus salmincola. Clinical manifestations of the disease included lymph node enlargement, anorexia, pyrexia, diarrhea and death. Coccoid bodies indistinguishable from rickettsiae were observed in macrophages of spleen, liver, lymph nodes, and duodenum. Percentage recovery of adult trematodes from metacercariae administered was 23% from 12 inoculated coyotes, compared to 13% in one inoculated dog. Juvenile coyotes appear to be highly susceptible to experimental SPD.

Animals↗

Mycobacterium bovis in coyotes from Michigan.

During a survey for tuberculosis in wild carnivores and omnivores, Mycobacterium bovis was cultured from pooled lymph nodes of three adult female coyotes (Canis latrans) harvested by hunters in Michigan (USA). No gross or histologic lesions suggestive of tuberculosis were seen in these animals. One coyote was taken from Montmorency county and two coyotes from Alcona county located in the north-eastern portion of Michigan's Lower Peninsula where free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been found infected with bovine tuberculosis. It is thought that these coyotes became infected with M. bovis through the consumption of tuberculous deer. Other species included in the survey were the opossum (Didelphis virginiana), raccoon (Procyon lotor), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), bobcat (Felis rufus), and badger (Taxidea taxus).

Animal Feed↗

Dirofilaria immitis infection in foxes and coyotes in Indiana.

Between October 1976 and January 1977, carcasses or hearts and lungs from 202 wild foxes and coyotes in Indiana were collected to determine the prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis infection. Three of 113 (2.7%) red foxes (Vulpes fulva), 3 of 81 (3.7%) gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), and 1 of 8 (12.5%) coyotes (Canis latrans) were infected with D immitis. An average of 5 worms (range, 1 to 10) were recovered from foxes and 11 worms were recovered from the coyote. Worms from the coyote were of normal length and all female worms contained developing embryos and microfilariae. Worms from foxes were small, and none of the female worms contained developing embryos.

Animals↗

Effects of novelty and familiarity on illness-induced aversions to food and place cues in coyotes (Canis latrans).

Two experiments investigated the effects of novelty and familiarity on illness-induced aversions to taste and place cues in coyotes (Canis latrans). Coyotes were made ill on familiar food laced with lithium chloride in a novel place and then received preference tests. In Experiment 1, coyotes avoided the previously poisoned familiar food in the novel treatment place but readily ate the same familiar food in a familiar safe place. In Experiment 2, the results of Experiment 1 were replicated, and it was found that coyotes would eat a different familiar food in the novel treatment place. On the basis of the results of this and other studies, a model for averting animals from places where they are not wanted is presented.

Animals↗

The epizootiology and pathology of sarcoptic mange in coyotes, Canis latrans, from south Texas.

An epizootic of sarcoptic mange in coyotes from south Texas, Canis latrans , was studied over a 7-yr period, 1975 through 1981. From a four-county area centered in Webb County, Texas the epizootic radiated centrifugally to include a 27-county area. The disease progressed from initial, scabby encrustations on the ischium and fore and hind legs to severe, thickened, slate-gray hyperkeratotic lesions with almost complete alopecia. There were significant decreases in alpha-globulin and albumin, significant increases in gamma-globulin, and significant decreases in fat deposits and total body weight indicative of a chronic infection with establishment of a humoral antibody response as the infection progressed in severity. Significant differences in prevalence of mange across habitat variables of host age and sex, and across seasons were related to the juvenile/adult ratio in the coyote population at any particular time because the infection progressed more rapidly in juveniles. Population dynamics and abundance of coyotes were generally unaffected by the mange epizootic. Although higher mortality was associated with mange-infected animals, this had no effect on overall mortality in the coyote population.

Aging↗

Infectivity of sarcocystis spp. from bison, elk, moose, and cattle for cattle via sporocysts from coyotes.

Bison bison (bison), Cervus canadensis (elk), Alces alces (moose), and Bos taurus (cattle) musculature containing Sarcocystis spp. cysts was fed to laboratory raised Canis latrans (coyotes), Sporocysts collected from the feces of coyotes fed musculature of each of the ruminant species were fed to four groups of three laboratory-raised domestic calves, respectively, to determine if Sarcocystis spp. was transmissible from wild to domestic ruminants and if so, to compare clinical signs of infection and morphologic features of cysts with those resulting from infection with Sarcocystis bovicanis. All calves fed sporocysts of Sarcocystis from coyotes that ate bison or cattle muscle had similar clinical signs and harbored morphologically similar parasites, suggesting that both bison and cattle are intermediate hosts for S. bovicanis and that this species is transmissible between the two ruminant species. All calves fed sporocysts from coyotes that ate elk muscle or moose muscle remained asymptomatic but one calf in each group had intramuscular cysts. The finding of relatively large numbers of intramuscular cysts in one calf fed sporocysts of elk origin and smaller numbers in one calf fed sporocysts of moose origin could represent either spurious natural infections or indicate low infectivity of Sarcocystis spp. from elk and moose to cattle.

Animal Population Groups↗

Mechanistic home range models capture spatial patterns and dynamics of coyote territories in Yellowstone.

Patterns of space-use by individuals are fundamental to the ecology of animal populations influencing their social organization, mating systems, demography and the spatial distribution of prey and competitors. To date, the principal method used to analyse the underlying determinants of animal home range patterns has been resource selection analysis (RSA), a spatially implicit approach that examines the relative frequencies of animal relocations in relation to landscape attributes. In this analysis, we adopt an alternative approach, using a series of mechanistic home range models to analyse observed patterns of territorial space-use by coyote packs in the heterogeneous landscape of Yellowstone National Park. Unlike RSAs, mechanistic home range models are derived from underlying correlated random walk models of individual movement behaviour, and yield spatially explicit predictions for patterns of space-use by individuals. As we show here, mechanistic home range models can be used to determine the underlying determinants of animal home range patterns, incorporating both movement responses to underlying landscape heterogeneities and the effects of behavioural interactions between individuals. Our analysis indicates that the spatial arrangement of coyote territories in Yellowstone is determined by the spatial distribution of prey resources and an avoidance response to the presence of neighbouring packs. We then show how the fitted mechanistic home range model can be used to correctly predict observed shifts in the patterns of coyote space-use in response to perturbation.

Animals↗

Population structure of California coyotes corresponds to habitat-specific breaks and illuminates species history.

Little is known about the relationship between animal movements and the emergent structure of populations, especially for species occupying large continuous distributions. Some such mammals disperse disproportionately into habitat similar to their natal habitat, a behavioural bias that might be expected to lead to habitat-conforming genetic structure. We hypothesized that coyotes (Canis latrans) would exhibit such natal-biased dispersal, and used 13 microsatellite loci to test, correspondingly, whether genetic structure conformed to major habitat breaks. First, we used a model-based approach to assign coyote genotypes to distinct genetic clusters irrespective of geographical location. Visualization on a geographical information system revealed a strong concordance between the locations of cluster assignments and habitat bioregions, not explainable in terms of physical dispersal barriers or intervening low-quality habitat. Next, we used a multiple Mantel test, which controlled for effects of geographical distance (itself, marginally significant; P = 0.06), to statistically determine that genetic distance was indeed higher between than within bioregions (P < 0.001). Whereas previously published examples of landscape effects on gene flow have typically been explainable in terms of species-wide habitat affinities or dispersal barriers, our finding that genetic subdivisions were associated with unobstructed boundaries between contiguous habitats suggests a role for intraspecific variability in habitat affinities as a factor underlying genetic structure. In addition, our data combined with previously published data suggest a pattern of genetic isolation-by-distance throughout western North America, consistent with independent evidence that the western half of the coyote range predates European settlement.

Animals↗

Dynamics of hybridization and introgression in red wolves and coyotes.

Hybridization and introgression are significant causes of endangerment in many taxa and are considered the greatest biological threats to the reintroduced population of red wolves (Canis rufus) in North Carolina (U.S.A.). Little is known, however, about these processes in red wolves and coyotes (C. latrans). We used individual-based simulations to examine the process of hybridization and introgression between these species. Under the range of circumstances we considered, red wolves in colonizing and established populations were quickly extirpated, persisted near the carrying capacity, or had intermediate outcomes. Sensitivity analyses suggested that the probabilities of quasi extinction and persistence of red wolves near the carrying capacity were most affected by the strength of two reproductive barriers: red wolf challenges and assortative mating between red wolves and coyotes. Because model parameters for these barriers may be difficult to estimate, we also sought to identify other predictors of red wolf population fate. The proportion of pure red wolves in the population was a strong predictor of the future probabilities of red wolf quasi extinction and persistence. Finally, we examined whether sterilization can be effective in minimizing introgression while allowing the reintroduced red wolfpopulation to grow. Our results suggest sterilization can be an effective short-term strategy to reduce the likelihood of extirpation in colonizing populations of red wolves. Whether red wolf numbers are increased by sterilization depends on the level of sterilization effort and the acting reproductive barriers. Our results provide an outline of the conditions likely required for successful reestablishment and long-term maintenance of populations of wild red wolves in the presence of coyotes. Our modeling approach may prove generally useful in providing insight into situations involving complex species interactions when data are few.

Animals↗

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are definitive hosts of Neospora caninum.

Four captive-raised coyote pups consumed tissues from Neospora caninum-infected calves. Faeces were examined from 4 days before to 28 days after infection. One pup shed N. caninum-like oocysts, which tested positive for N. caninum and negative for Hammondia heydorni using PCR tests. Coyotes are the second discovered definitive host of N. caninum, after dogs. In North America, the expanding coyote ranges and population increase the probability of contact with domestic livestock. To reduce the risk of transmission of N. caninum to intensively farmed cattle, we recommend protection of feedstuffs using canid-proof fences, and careful disposal of dead stock.

Animals↗

Development and testing of seven new synthetic coyote attractants.

Available evidence indicates that effective coyote attractants are blends of volatile substances. Typically, attractants are a combination of biological substances such as fermented glandular materials, urines, and rotted meats. Although effective, these attractants have several distinct disadvantages. Among these is the possibility that they are unnecessarily complex and variable and, thus, difficult to replicate from one batch to the next. Although attractants containing a few reagent grade materials are available, the chemicals selected and their concentrations are not derived from actual attractants. For this reason, commercially available coyote attractants were analyzed with the intention of developing relatively simple synthetic alternatives. Purge and trap headspace analysis with gas chromatography/mass selective detection was employed to identify the volatile components of known conventional and synthetic attractants. All identified compounds were grouped according to chemical functionality, and one compound from each functional group was chosen to represent the group. Using only these representative compounds, seven synthetic attractants were formulated. Bioassays with captive coyotes (Canis latrans) were conducted to compare behavioral responses elicited by the seven new attractants, a currently available synthetic attractant, and a control. The results indicated that the attractants elicited significantly different behavioral profiles.

Animals↗