Parasites of Sika deer in the Land of the Leopard National Park and neighboring territories

The purpose of the research is to obtain information on the taxonomic composition of parasites of Sika deer (Cervus nippon) living in the Land of the Leopard National Park and neighboring territories.

Materials and methods. Thirteen Sika deer that died from various causes in the Land of the Leopard National Park and neighboring territories (the southwest of Primorsky Krai, Russian Far East) from December 2021 to April 2024 were examined. The taxonomic affiliation of detected parasites was determined by morphological peculiarities.

Results and discussion. All the Sika deer examined were found to have nematodes, with trichostrongylids of the species Spiculopteragia asymmetrica predominating. Single specimens of the spirurids Pygarginema skrjabini were also found in four animals. The trichostrongylids Ashworthius sidemi were found in two deer. In addition, a trematode from the Paramphistomidae family was recorded. The deer keds Lipoptena cervi were also found on one of the deer.

1. Bannikov A. G., Prisyazhnyuk V. E. Aboriginal Sika deer. Priroda = Nature. 1977; 2: 122–130. (In Russ.).

2. Bey-Bienko G. Ya. Key of insects of the European part of the USSR. V. 5. Part 1. Leningrad: Pub. House Nauka, 1969; 805. (In Russ.).

3. Velichko I. V. New trematode Paramphistomum petrowi (Davydova, 1961) nov. comb. (Paramphistomidae) from the Sika deer (Cervus nippon) in the Primorsky Krai of the USSR. Materialy nauchnoy konferentsii Vsesoyuznogo obshchestva gel'mintologov = Materials for the scientific conference of the All-Union Society of Helminthologist. 1966; 3: 60-64. (In Russ.)

4. Govorka Ya., Maklakova L. P., Mitukh Ya., Pelgunov A. N., Rykovskyi A. S., Semenova M. K., Sonin M. D., Erkhardova-Kotrla B., Yurashek V. Helminths of wild ungulates in Eastern Europe. Moscow: Pub. House Nauka, 1988; 208. (In Russ.).

5. Dvoriadkin V. A., Ermolenko A. V., Besprozvanych V. V. On the biology of Paramphistomum petrowi Velichko, 1966, a parasite of axis deer in the Primorye territory. Parazitologiya. 1983; 17 (4): 311–314. (In Russ.).

6. Kuznetsov D. N. New data about morphology of Spiculopteragia asymmetrica (Ware, 1925) Orloff, 1933 (Nematoda; Trichostrongylidae). «Teoriya i praktika bor'by s parazitarnymi boleznyami»: materialy dokladov nauchnoy konferentsii = «Theory and practice of parasitic disease control»: Proceedings of the Scientific Conference. 2001; 2: 129-131. (In Russ.).

7. Kuznetsov D. N. Morphology of Spiculopteragia asymmetrica (Ware, 1925) Orloff, 1933 (Nematoda; Trichostrongylidae) from wild ruminants. Trudy Vserossiyskogo instituta gel'mintologii = Proceedings of All-Russian Institute of Helminthology. 2002; 38: 136-153. (In Russ.).

8. Kuznetsov D. N., Lomakin V. V., Moskvin A. S., Treboganova N. V. About specific structure of Trichostrongylus spp. in domestic and wild ruminant from Moscow region. Trudy Vserossiyskogo instituta gel'mintologii = Proceedings of All-Russian Institute of Helminthology. 2006; 42: 173-177. (In Russ.).

9. Kuznetsov D. N. The study of gastrointestinal nematodes species composition in wild ruminants from European Russia. Vestnik ohotovedeniya = The Herald of Game Management. 2013; 10 (2): 204- 207. (In Russ.).

10. Kuznetsov D. N., Aksyonov A. P., Poloz S. V., Anisimova E. I., Romashova N. B., Romashov B. V. Ashworthius sidemi (Nematoda, Trichostrongyloidea) in wild ruminants in Belarus and European Russia. «Sovremennyye problemy parazitologii i ekologii»: chteniya, posvyashchennyye pamyati S. S. Shul'mana = «Modern problems of parasitology and ecology»: Readings Dedicated to the Memory of S. S. Shulman. 2018; 201-206. (In Russ.).

11. Kuznetsov D. N. Guidelines for collection and fixation of gastrointestinal nematodes of ruminants. Rossiyskiy parazitologicheskiy zhurnal = Russian Journal of Parasitology. 2020; 14 (2): 120-124. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31016/1998-8435-2020-14-2-120-124

12. Kuznetsov D. N., Seryodkin I. V., Maksimova D. A. Nematodes of the digestive tract of musk deer in Primorsky Krai. «Teoriya i praktika bor'by s parazitarnymi boleznyami»: sbornik nauchnykh statey po materialam mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii = «Theory and practice of parasitic disease control»: a collection of scientific articles based on the materials of an international scientific conference. 2022; 23: 281-285. (In Russ.).

13. Kuznetsov D. N., Seryodkin I. V., Maksimova D. A. Nematode fauna of the digestive tract of Siberian roe deer in Primorsky Krai. Rossiyskiy parazitologicheskiy zhurnal = Russian Journal of Parasitology. 2024; 18 (1): 23-30. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31016/1998-8435-2024-18-1-23-30

14. Moskvin A. S. Morphological artifacts on histologic specimens of Paramphistomids (Trematoda, Paramphistomidae) and their role in correct diagnosis of species. «Teoriya i praktika bor'by s parazitarnymi boleznyami»: sbornik nauchnykh statey po materialam mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii = «Theory and practice of parasitic disease control»: a collection of scientific articles based on the materials of the international scientific conference. 2024; 25: 275-279. (In Russ.).

15. Oshmarin P. G., Parukhin A. M. Trematodes and nematodes of birds and mammals of the SikhoteAlin Reserve. Trudy Sikhote-Alinskogo zapovednika = Proceedings of Sikhote-Alin Reserve. 1963; 3: 121– 181. (In Russ.).

16. Petrov T. A., Esaulova N. V., Cepilova I. I. Monitoring studies of the helminth fauna of wild ungulates in Leopard land national park. «Sovremennyye problemy obshchey i prikladnoy parazitologii»: sbornik nauchnykh statey po materialam XV natsional'noy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii pamyati professora V. A. Romashova = «Modern problems of general and applied parasitology»: сollection of scientific articles based on the materials of the XV National Scientific and Practical Conference in memory of Professor V. A. Romashov. 2021; 50-54. (In Russ.).

17. Petrunenko Yu. K., Seryodkin I. V., Miller C. S., Miquelle D. G. Study of the Amur tiger using satellite tracking. «Geograficheskiye i geoekologicheskiye issledovaniya na Dal'nem Vostoke»: sbornik nauchnykh statey molodykh uchenykh = «Geographical and Geoecological Investigations in the Far East»: proceedings of Young Scientists’ Articles. 2014; 10: 80-85. (In Russ.).

18. Pikunov D. G., Korkishko V. G. Leopard of the Far East. Moscow: Pub. House Nauka, 1992; 192. (In Russ.).

19. Prisyazhnyuk V. E. A unique population of aboriginal Sika deer in the Primorsky kray. Nauchnyye trudy Tsentral'noy laboratorii okhrany prirody = Proceedings of Central Laboratory of Nature Protection. 1975: 240–254. (In Russ.).

20. Pryadko E. I. Helminths of Deer. Alma-Ata: Pub. House Nauka KazSSR, 1976; 224. (In Russ.).

21. Ryashchenko L. P. Antler reindeer husbandry in the Primorsky kray. Vladivostok, 1976; 143. (In Russ.).

22. Salmanova E. I., Kostirya A. V., Miquelle D. G. Far Eastern leopard Panthera pardus orientalis diet composition in the Russian Far East. Izvestiya Irkutskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Seriya Biologiya. Ecologiya = The bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series: Biology. Ecology. 2013; 6: 84-89. (In Russ.).

23. Skrjabin K. I. The method of complete helminthological dissection of animals and humans. Moscow: MSU, 1928; 18. (In Russ.).

24. Skrjabin K. I., Shikhobalova N. P., Shults R. S. Essentials of nematodology III. Trichostrongylids of animals and man. Moscow: Pub. House of Academy of Sciences USSR, 1954; 683. (In Russ.).

25. Drozdz J. Polymorphism in the Ostertagiinae Lopez-Neyra, 1947 and comments on the systematics of these nematodes. Syst. Parasitol. 1995; 32: 91-99.

26. Drozdz J., Demiaszkiewicz A. W., Lachowicz J. Ashworthius sidemi (Nematoda, Trichostrongylidae) a new parasite of the European bison Bison bonasus (L.) and the question of independence of A. gagarini. Acta Parasitologica. 1998; 43: 75-80.

27. Drozdz J., Demiaszkiewicz A. W., Lachowicz J. Expansion of the Asiatic parasite Ashworthius sidemi (Nematoda, Trichostrongylidae) in wild ruminants in Polish territory. Parasitology Research. 2003; 89: 94-97.

28. Irvine R. J., Corbishley H., Pilkington J. G., Albon S. D. Low-level parasitic worm burdens may reduce body condition in free-ranging red deer (Cervus elaphus). Parasitology. 2006; 133: 465-475.

29. Kerley L. L., Mukhacheva A. S., Matyukhina D. S., Salmanova E., Salkina G. P., Miquelle D. G. A comparison of food habits and prey preference of Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) at three sites in the Russian Far East. Integrative Zoology. 2015; 10 (4): 354–364.

30. Kotrla B, Kotrly A. The first finding of the nematode Ashworthius sidemi Schulz, 1933 in Sika nippon from Czechoslovakia. Folia Parasitologica. 1973; 24: 377-378.

31. Kuznetsov D. N., Seryodkin I. V., Maksimova D. A., Khrustalev A. V. Helminth fauna of the Siberian roe (Capreolus pygargus) digestive tract. Achievements in the Life Sciences. 2014; 8 (2): 121–122.

32. Kuznetsov D. N., Seryodkin I. V., Maksimova D. A. Study of the species composition of gastrointestinal nematodes parasitising sika deer and manchurian deer in the Russian Far East. Russian Journal of Nematology. 2021; 29 (2): 191-192.

33. Kuznetsov D. The first detection of abomasal nematode Ashworthius sidemi in fallow deer (Dama dama) in Russia. Acta Parasitologica. 2022; 67 (1): 560-563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686- 021-00452-x

34. Kuznetsov D. N., Romashova N. B., Romashov B. V. Species composition of gastrointestinal nematodes of moose (Alces alces) in European Russia. Russian Journal of Theriology. 2022; 21 (2): 162-168. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusjtheriol.21.2.07

35. Lehrter V., Jouet D., Lienard E., Decors A., Patrelle C. Ashworthius sidemi Schulz, 1933 and Haemonchus contortus (Rudolphi, 1803) in cervids in France: integrative approach for species identification. Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 2016; 46: 94-101.

36. Razanske I., Rosef O., Radzijevskaja J., Klepeckiene K., Lipatova I., Paulauskas A. Infections with Bartonella spp. in free-ranging cervids and deer keds (Lipoptena cervi) in Norway. Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2018; 58: 26-30.

37. Rickard L. G., Hoberg E. P., Allen N. M., Zimmerman G. L., Craig T. M. Spiculopteragia spiculoptera and S. asymmetrica (Nematoda: Trichostrongyloidea) from red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Texas. Journal Wildlife Diseases. 1993; 29: 512-515.

38. Sato S., Kabeya H., Ishiguro S., Shibasaki Y., Maruyama S. Lipoptena fortisetosa as a vector of Bartonella bacteria in Japanese Sika deer (Cervus nippon). Parasites & Vectors. 2021; 14: 73.

39. Schulz R. S. Ashworthius sidemi n. sp. (Nematoda, Trichostrongylidae) from a deer (Pseudaxis hortulorum). Zeitschrift fur Parasitenkunde. 1933; 5: 735-739. (In German).

40. Suarez V. H., Busetti M. R., Fort M. C., Bedotti D. O. Spiculopteragia spiculoptera and Ostertagia leptospicularis from Cervus elaphus in La Pampa, Argentina. Veterinary Parasitology. 1991; 40: 165-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4017(91)90095-D