Invasive American mink: Linking pathogen risk between domestic and endangered carnivores

Maximiliano A. Sepúlveda; Randall S. Singer; Eduardo A. Silva-Rodríguez; Antonieta Eguren; Paulina Stowhas; Katherine Pelican

doi:10.1007/s10393-014-0917-z

Invasive American mink: Linking pathogen risk between domestic and endangered carnivores

Maximiliano A. Sepúlveda, Randall S. Singer, Eduardo A. Silva-Rodríguez, Antonieta Eguren, Paulina Stowhas, Katherine Pelican

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

Infectious diseases, in particular canine distemper virus (CDV), are an important threat to the viability of wild carnivore populations. CDV is thought to be transmitted by direct contact between individuals; therefore, the study of species interactions plays a pivotal role in understanding CDV transmission dynamics. However, CDV often appears to move between populations that are ecologically isolated, possibly through bridge hosts that interact with both species. This study investigated how an introduced species could alter multihost interactions and act as a bridge host in a novel carnivore assemblage of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), invasive American mink (Neovison vison), and threatened river otters (Lontra provocax) in southern Chile. We found that rural dogs interact with mink near farms whereas in riparian habitats, minks and river otters shared the same latrines with both species visiting sites frequently within time intervals well within CDV environmental persistence. No interactions were observed between dogs and otters at either location. Both dog and mink populations were serologically positive for CDV, making the pathogen transfer risk to otters a conservation concern. Altogether, introduced mink in this ecosystem have the potential to act as bridge hosts between domestic dogs and endangered carnivores.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	409-419
Number of pages	11
Journal	EcoHealth
Volume	11
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-014-0917-z
State	Published - Sep 2014

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Financial support for this study was provided by a grant from the Morris Animal Foundation (Award Number D10ZO-057), the University of Minnesota Grant-in-Aid program, Panthera Foundation, the Wildlife Without Borders program of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The authors wish to thank O. Aleuy, A. Espinoza, E. Garde, G. Pérez, R. Jara, M. Paredes, M. Rojas, C. Sanchez, and all the volunteers for their work during field data collection. Thanks to P. Contreras for collaboration in Fig. 1 creation. We thank The Nature Conservancy for their logistical support supplied by their park rangers as well as the administrative support provided by the ComitéPro-Defensa de la Fauna y Flora. M.A.S and E.A.S were funded by a Fulbright-CONICYT grant. This study was approved by the Bioethical Committee of the University of Minnesota (Code Number: 0906A67145) and by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Minnesota (1304E31141). Mink capture and sampling were authorized by Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (9 de Octubre 2009, Permit No. 6171).

Keywords

Canis familiaris
Lontra provocax
Neovison vison
bridge host
distemper
interactions

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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title = "Invasive American mink: Linking pathogen risk between domestic and endangered carnivores",

abstract = "Infectious diseases, in particular canine distemper virus (CDV), are an important threat to the viability of wild carnivore populations. CDV is thought to be transmitted by direct contact between individuals; therefore, the study of species interactions plays a pivotal role in understanding CDV transmission dynamics. However, CDV often appears to move between populations that are ecologically isolated, possibly through bridge hosts that interact with both species. This study investigated how an introduced species could alter multihost interactions and act as a bridge host in a novel carnivore assemblage of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), invasive American mink (Neovison vison), and threatened river otters (Lontra provocax) in southern Chile. We found that rural dogs interact with mink near farms whereas in riparian habitats, minks and river otters shared the same latrines with both species visiting sites frequently within time intervals well within CDV environmental persistence. No interactions were observed between dogs and otters at either location. Both dog and mink populations were serologically positive for CDV, making the pathogen transfer risk to otters a conservation concern. Altogether, introduced mink in this ecosystem have the potential to act as bridge hosts between domestic dogs and endangered carnivores.",

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Invasive American mink: Linking pathogen risk between domestic and endangered carnivores

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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