Dataset Information

Tracking cats: problems with placing feline carnivores on ?O, ?D isoscapes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Several felids are endangered and threatened by the illegal wildlife trade. Establishing geographic origin of tissues of endangered species is thus crucial for wildlife crime investigations and effective conservation strategies. As shown in other species, stable isotope analysis of hydrogen and oxygen in hair (?D(h), ?(18)O(h)) can be used as a tool for provenance determination. However, reliably predicting the spatial distribution of ?D(h) and ?(18)O(h) requires confirmation from animal tissues of known origin and a detailed understanding of the isotopic routing of dietary nutrients into felid hair.

Methodology/findings

We used coupled ?D(h) and ?(18)O(h) measurements from the North American bobcat (Lynx rufus) and puma (Puma concolor) with precipitation-based assignment isoscapes to test the feasibility of isotopic geo-location of felidae. Hairs of felid and rabbit museum specimens from 75 sites across the United States and Canada were analyzed. Bobcat and puma lacked a significant correlation between H/O isotopes in hair and local waters, and also exhibited an isotopic decoupling of ?(18)O(h) and ?D(h). Conversely, strong ?D and ?(18)O coupling was found for key prey, eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus; hair) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; collagen, bone phosphate).

Conclusions/significance

Puma and bobcat hairs do not adhere to expected pattern of H and O isotopic variation predicted by precipitation isoscapes for North America. Thus, using bulk hair, felids cannot be placed on ?(18)O and ?D isoscapes for use in forensic investigations. The effective application of isotopes to trace the provenance of feline carnivores is likely compromised by major controls of their diet, physiology and metabolism on hair ?(18)O and ?D related to body water budgets. Controlled feeding experiments, combined with single amino acid isotope analysis of diets and hair, are needed to reveal mechanisms and physiological traits explaining why felid hair does not follow isotopic patterns demonstrated in many other taxa.

SUBMITTER: Pietsch SJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3170367 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Tracking cats: problems with placing feline carnivores on δO, δD isoscapes.

Pietsch Stephanie J SJ Hobson Keith A KA Wassenaar Leonard I LI Tütken Thomas T

PloS one 20110909 9

<h4>Background</h4>Several felids are endangered and threatened by the illegal wildlife trade. Establishing geographic origin of tissues of endangered species is thus crucial for wildlife crime investigations and effective conservation strategies. As shown in other species, stable isotope analysis of hydrogen and oxygen in hair (δD(h), δ(18)O(h)) can be used as a tool for provenance determination. However, reliably predicting the spatial distribution of δD(h) and δ(18)O(h) requires confirmation ...[more]

PMID: 21931770

Similar Datasets

Project description:The pet cat's population and the number of viruses that infect them are increasing worldwide. Recently, feline chaphamaparvovirus (FeChPV, also called fechavirus) and feline bocaparvovirus (FBoV) infections, which are novel parvovirus species, have been reported in cats from different geographic regions. Here, we investigated FBoV 1-3 and FeChPVs in healthy cats in Turkey using PCR, where nuclear phosphoprotein 1 (NP1) is targeted for FBoV and NP for FeChPV. For this purpose, oropharygeal swabs were obtained from 70 healthy cats with different housing status from June 15 to December 1, 2020. After PCR screening tests, six out of 70 cats (5/47 shelter cats; 1/23 domestic cats) were found to be positive for FBOV, while two were positive for FeChPV (1/47 shelter cats; 1/23 domestic cats). No cat was found in which both viruses were detected. The nucleotide (nt) sequence comparison in the 310 base pair (bp) NP gene of the two FeChPVs identified in this study shared a high identity with each other (95.0% nt and 99% aa identities) and with previously reported FeChPVs (92.4-97.1% nt and 98.1-99.0% aa identities), including 313R/2019/ITA, 49E/2019/ITA, VRI_849, 284R/2019/ITA, and IDEXX-1. Here, the near-full length (1489 nt, 495 amino acids-aa) of the VP2 gene of the FechaV/Tur-2020/68 isolate obtained from the study was also sequenced. The nt and aa identity ratio of this isolate with other FeChPVs was 98.0-98.5%-96-96.5%, respectively. Sequences of the 465 bp NP1 gene of the six Turkish FBoV strains shared high identities with each other (99.6-100% nt and 99.3-100% aa identities) and with those of FBoV-2 strains (97.8-99.1% nt and 98.0-100% aa identities), including 16SY0701, 17CC0505-BoV2, HFXA-6, and POR1. All FBoVs detected in this study were classified as genotype 2, similar to the study conducted in Japan and Portugal. Here, the NS1 (partial), NP1, VP1 and VP2 gene of the FBoV-2/TUR/2020-14 strain obtained from the study were also sequenced and the nt and aa sequences showed high identities to the above-mentioned FBoV-2 strain/isolates (> 96%, except for the aa ratio of strain 16SY0701). In conclusion, this study shows that FBoV and FeChPV are present in healthy cats in Turkey, and these viruses can be detected from oropharyngeal swabs. Our findings contribute to further investigation of the prevalence, genotype distribution, and genetic diversity of Turkish FBoVs and FeChPVs, adding to the molecular epidemiology of FBoV and FeChPVs worldwide.