Colin Krusor
M. Tim Tinker
James G. Moore
Patricia A. Conrad
Karen Shapiro
Kristen C Schott
2016
<p><span>Small marine snails and abalone have been identified as high- and low-risk prey items, respectively, for exposure of threatened southern sea otters to </span><i><span class="italic">Toxoplasma gondii</span></i><span>, a zoonotic parasite that can cause fatal encephalitis in animals and humans. While recent work has characterized snails as paratenic hosts for </span><i><span class="italic">T. gondii</span></i><span>, the ability of abalone to vector the parasite has not been evaluated. To further elucidate why abalone predation may be protective against </span><i><span class="italic">T. gondii</span></i><span> exposure, this study aimed to determine whether: (1) abalone are physiologically capable of acquiring </span><i><span class="italic">T. gondii</span></i><span>; and (2) abalone and snails differ in their ability to concentrate and retain the parasite. Abalone were exposed to </span><span class="italic"><i>T. gondii</i> </span><span>surrogate microspheres for 24 h, and fecal samples were examined for 2 weeks following exposure. Concentration of surrogates was 2–3 orders of magnitude greater in abalone feces than in the spiked seawater, and excretion of surrogates continued for 14 days post-exposure. These results indicate that, physiologically, abalone and snails can equally vector </span><i><span class="italic">T. gondii</span></i><span> as paratenic hosts. Reduced risk of </span><i><span class="italic">T. gondii</span></i><span> infection in abalone-specializing otters may therefore result from abalone's high nutritional value, which implies otters must consume fewer animals to meet their caloric needs.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.1017/S0031182016001359
en
Cambridge University Press
Concentration and retention of Toxoplasma gondii surrogates from seawater by red abalone (Haliotis rufescens)
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