Field Anesthesia of the Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) in Bolivia.

Fifteen maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) were anesthetized a total of 43 times as part of a long-term ecology and health study in a remote region of northeastern Bolivia. We administered tiletamine-zolazepam (TZ) to wolves in box traps or free-ranging, from blinds or on foot, at a mean dosage of 4.6 mg/kg intramuscularly. Detailed anesthetic information was recorded in 24 of these events in 11 wolves (six males, five females), and wolves were monitored closely post procedure with very high frequency or global positioning system telemetry collars. Anesthetic induction was smooth and rapid in all cases, with a mean 6.4 min from injection to recumbency. Vital parameters were stable during the majority of procedures. As expected with this drug combination, recovery was long (mean time to standing 163 min [range: 80-235 min]) but smooth, and animals were monitored in most cases in box traps until stable for release. One case of apnea and prolonged recovery is reported. In two cases, wolves recovered normally but were found to move minimally in the 2.5-4 d postprocedure before resuming normal movements. Overall, TZ provided safe, stable immobilization of free-ranging maned wolves in remote and extreme field conditions, although postanesthesia monitoring via telemetry is recommended.

Mitogenomic Phylogeny, Diversification, and Biogeography of South American Spiny Rats.

Echimyidae is one of the most speciose and ecologically diverse rodent families in the world, occupying a wide range of habitats in the Neotropics. However, a resolved phylogeny at the genus-level is still lacking for these 22 genera of South American spiny rats, including the coypu (Myocastorinae), and 5 genera of West Indian hutias (Capromyidae) relatives. Here, we used Illumina shotgun sequencing to assemble 38 new complete mitogenomes, establishing Echimyidae, and Capromyidae as the first major rodent families to be completely sequenced at the genus-level for their mitochondrial DNA. Combining mitogenomes and nuclear exons, we inferred a robust phylogenetic framework that reveals several newly supported nodes as well as the tempo of the higher level diversification of these rodents. Incorporating the full generic diversity of extant echimyids leads us to propose a new higher level classification of two subfamilies: Euryzygomatomyinae and Echimyinae. Of note, the enigmatic Carterodon displays fast-evolving mitochondrial and nuclear sequences, with a long branch that destabilizes the deepest divergences of the echimyid tree, thereby challenging the sister-group relationship between Capromyidae and Euryzygomatomyinae. Biogeographical analyses involving higher level taxa show that several vicariant and dispersal events impacted the evolutionary history of echimyids. The diversification history of Echimyidae seems to have been influenced by two major historical factors, namely (1) recurrent connections between Atlantic and Amazonian Forests and (2) the Northern uplift of the Andes.

Serosurvey of pathogens in domestic dogs on the border of Noël Kempff Mercado National Park, Bolivia.

The threat of disease transmission from domestic animals to wildlife has become recognized as an increasing concern within the wildlife community in recent years. Domestic dogs pose a significant risk as reservoirs for infectious diseases, especially for wild canids. As part of a multifaceted ecologic study of maned wolves and other canids in the large, remote Noël Kempff Mercado National Park (NKMNP) in northeastern Bolivia, 40 domestic dogs in two villages and at two smaller settlements bordering the national park were sampled for exposure to canine diseases. High levels of exposure were found to canine distemper virus and canine parvovirus, both of which are known to cause mortality in maned wolves and other carnivores. Moderate to high levels of exposure were found to rabies virus, Ehrlichia canis, and Toxoplasma gondii, as well as significant levels of infection with Dirofilaria immitis. This study reports evidence of exposure to several diseases in the domestic dogs bordering the park. Contact between wild carnivores and dogs has been documented in the sampled villages, therefore dogs likely pose a substantial risk to the carnivores within and near NKMNP. Further measures should be undertaken to decrease the risk of spillover infection from domestic animals into the wild species of this region.

Leishmania amazonensis infections in Oryzomys acritus and Oryzomys nitidus from Bolivia.

Three of thirteen Oryzomys acritus, Emmons and Patton 2005 (Rodentia: Muridae: Sigmodontinae) and 3 of 17 Oryzomys nitidus, Thomas 1884, collected from Noël Kempff National Park, Bolivia, from 2002 to 2005, tested positive for Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis or L. (L.) mexicana and negative for Leishmania (Viannia) spp. using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Based on previous records of L. (L.) amazonensis in humans, rodents, and sand flies from Bolivia, and the geographic distributions of L. (L.) amazonensis and L. (L.) mexicana, it was concluded that the Oryzomys were infected with L. (L.) amazonensis. These results identify two additional species of Oryzomys as hosts of L. (L.) amazonensis, and identify an ecological region of Bolivia where L. (L.) amazonensis is enzootic.

Exposure of free-ranging maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) to infectious and parasitic disease agents in the Noël Kempff Mercado National Park, Bolivia.

Maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) are neotropic mammals, listed as a CITES Appendix II species, with a distribution south of the Amazon forest from Bolivia, through northern Argentina and Paraguay and into eastern Brazil and northern Uruguay. Primary threats to the survival of free-ranging maned wolves include habitat loss, road kills, and shooting by farmers. An additional threat to the conservation of maned wolves is the risk of morbidity and mortality due to infectious and parasitic diseases. Captive maned wolves are susceptible to, and die from, common infectious diseases of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) including canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV), rabies virus, and canine adenovirus (CAV). Results from this study show that free-ranging maned wolves in a remote area of Bolivia have been exposed to multiple infectious and parasitic agents of domestic carnivores, including CAV, CDV, CPV, canine coronavirus, rabies virus, Leptospira interrogans spp., Toxoplasma gondii, and Dirofilaria immitis, and may be at increased risk for disease due to these agents.