EXPOSURE TO FELINE AND CANINE PATHOGENS IN BOBCATS AND GRAY FOXES IN URBAN AND RURAL ZONES OF A NATIONAL PARK IN CALIFORNIA

“The causative agent of cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis, Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm), affects domestic dogs, cats, and various wild mammals with increasing incidence in temperate and tropical areas [1-5].”

“In so doing, the species may interact more frequently with domestic pets, people, and other potential hosts (Riley et al. 2004).”

“Habitat loss or its fragmentation increases the chances of wildlife–domestic contact, as many carnivores adapt to human-modified urban, peri-urban, and rural environments, where they encounter anthropogenic food sources and virus-contaminated fomites and establish dens near settlements [38–40].”

“Wild felids were anesthetized using various tranquilizers/sedatives (19, 20), sampled, and released.”

“The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is one of the carnivores with the broadest distribution in North America, stretching from southern Canada to the Baja California peninsula and Oaxaca in Mexico (Hall 1981; Romero 1993; Larivière and Walton 1997; Romero 1993).”

“…carnivores [e.g., domestic cats Felis catus ] or due to increased densities of carni-vores and carnivore communities; Bateman and Fleming 2012; Riley et al. 2004; Riley, Serieys, et al. 2014; Wentzel et al. 2021), and toxicant exposure (Murray et al. 2019; Rodríguez-Estival and Mateo 2019).”

“Inhabiting human-dominated landscapes has been considered a risk factor for higher pathogen prevalence in wildlife (Riley et al., 2004; Foley et al., 2013; Carver et al., 2015; Mill´an et al., 2016).”

“Additionally, urban wildlife may encounter feral and companion domestic animals more frequently than nonurban wildlife, potentially resulting in the spillover and spillback of ectoparasites between co-occurring domestic and wild species, as has been suggested to occur with canine and feline-associated pathogens (Riley…”

“For example, the prevalence of 337 parvovirus increases with proximity to urban areas in grey foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in the US (73), 338 and dogs in urban areas in Brazil harbour more tick-borne pathogens than rural dogs (74).”

“Riley et al. (2004) found both bobcats (Lynx rufus) and gray foxes infected with diseases that can be linked back to domestic animals in anthropogenic areas significantly more than those animals that did not use anthropogenic areas.”

“While some species are negatively affected by habitat alteration, persecution, diseases and poisoning (Riley et al. 2004; Bateman and Fleming 2012; Serieys et al. 2018), others may successfully exploit urban and suburban habitats by using anthropogenic food resources and shelter, particularly in…”

“A previous study of grey foxes in California, USA, noted higher seroprevalence in urban foxes (Riley et al. 2004), and coyotes also experience high CPV exposure (Malmlov et al. 2014; Kimpston et al. 2022; White et al. 2022), suggesting that wild canids may also play a role in the transmission of…”