Within the carnivore guild, coyotes (Canis latrans) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are two of the most adaptive canids even capable of exploiting the urban landscape (Bateman and Flemming 2012). The colonization of new ecosystems has led coyotes to have expanded their range in the continental United States and are currently present in many North American urban and suburban areas (Moore and Parker, 1992; Bekoff and Gese, 2003; Weckel et al., 2010). Red foxes have colonized European cities and suburban areas since the 1930’s (Teagle, 1969; Harris, 1977; Soulsbury et al., 2010) and in North America it is suggested that they have been present in urban and suburban areas since the 1960’s (Adkins and Stott, 1998; Soulsbury et al. 2010). On the other hand, the ecology of the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) inhabiting anthropogenic landscapes has received little attention (Riley and White 2010). Past research has suggested that gray foxes will use anthropogenically disturbed landscapes, but do not prefer them (Riley 2006; Kapfer and Kirk 2012). Also, their populations have experienced declines in the Eastern United States, resulting from interspecific interactions (i.e. competition with most abundant coyotes) (Egan et al., 2021).
Changing landscapes may have an impact in the disease prevalence in these native canids with the implication of rendering a risk for human and domestic animal health, and the wild canid community per se as well (Murray et al., 2015; Hassel et al 2017). Suburban and rural areas of Missouri are home for these three canid species and they have been previously recorded by our team in our rural study site (Tyson Research Center; coyote, red fox and gray fox) and in our suburban study site (WildCare Park; coyote, red fox). These landscapes not only represent patent examples of rural and suburban landscapes, but also include or will include facilities for captive endangered species. All of these features make a unique opportunity to study the spatial ecology of the native canid guild in two ecologically distinct landscapes, linking animal movement patterns with infectious disease of concern for native canids, endangered species under human care, and human and domestic animals.
The main objectives of this project include: 1) analyze differences in the spatial ecology of the canid species in two ecologically distinct landscapes using the information gathered by the deployment of GPS radio-collars; 2) sample native canids and sympatric carnivores to study the seroprevalence of selected zoonotic diseases (i.e. leptospirosis, Lyme disease, rabies), canid viral diseases (i.e. canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, canine adenovirus, canine circovirus, canid alphaherpesvirus -1, canine parainfluenza) and vector-borne diseases (i.e. erlichiosis, dirofilariosis, Heartland virus, Bourbon virus) to explore the role of the native carnivore guild as reservoirs for infectious diseases; and 3) explore potential exposure to rodenticides as a silent threat for the canid community. Therefore, this project represents the first attempt to link the spatial ecology and health of native canids in two ecologically distinct landscapes from Missouri.
Spatial ecology and health of the Missouri Canid guild in two ecologically distinct landscapes