title: First record of intestinal parasites in a wild population of jaguar in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
abstract: Small and isolated wildlife populations may be more susceptible to disease, which makes illness an important issue to investigate regarding the conservation of large carnivores. Here, we present the results of the first investigation of intestinal parasites in one of the last remaining populations of jaguars in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We studied parasites from fecal samples using three different techniques for parasitological examination: floatation in saturated sodium chloride solution, sedimentation and formalin-ether centrifugation. Intestinal parasites were detected in 70% of the analyzed samples, and seven taxa (mean = 3.7 taxa/sample) were identified. All the groups of parasites that were identified have been recorded in previous jaguar studies. However, the records of Class Trematoda and nematodes Trichuridae are the first evidence of these groups of worms in free-ranging jaguars in Brazil. Although our results do not provide conclusive evidence on the health of this jaguar population, given its very small size (approximately 20 animals) we stress the need to properly understand the dynamics of disease in this wild population and to evaluate the risk of contracting new diseases from domestic species inhabiting the neighboring areas. These represent imperative actions for the successful conservation of this threatened population of jaguar.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ecossistemas, Universidade Vila Velha ? UVV, Vila Velha, ES, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana Carolina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Srbek-Araujo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Helmintologia Veterinária, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais ? UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Juliana Lúcia Costa
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Helmintologia Veterinária, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais ? UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Viviane Medeiros de
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Helmintologia Veterinária, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais ? UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcos Pezzi
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto ? FFCLRP, Universidade de São Paulo ? USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Adriano Garcia
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Chiarello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D065928:Forests; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007422:Intestines / Q000469:parasitology*; D046009:Panthera / Q000469:parasitology*