The Prevalence of the Raccoon Roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis, in Allegheny Woodrat Habitat in the Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S.A.

Jordan Wolfkill; Maria Elena Bejarano; Thomas L. Serfass; Greg Turner; Sunshine Brosi; Daniel Feller; Carolyn G. Mahan

doi:10.1674/0003-0031-185.1.145

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11 January 2021 The Prevalence of the Raccoon Roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis, in Allegheny Woodrat Habitat in the Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S.A.

Jordan Wolfkill, Maria Elena Bejarano, Thomas L. Serfass, Greg Turner, Sunshine Brosi, Daniel Feller, Carolyn G. Mahan

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The American Midland Naturalist, 185(1):145-147 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-185.1.145

Abstract

Baylisacaris procyonis is a roundworm that is tolerated by its primary host, raccoons (Procyon lotor). However, this roundworm can be fatal to intermediate mammalian hosts and may be a contributing factor to population declines of the endangered, Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister). We used fecal flotation to determine the prevalence of B. procyonis eggs in raccoon scat found in locations that overlap with where woodrats persist in the mid-Atlantic. We determined that B. procyonis was present at two extant woodrat colonies in Maryland and Pennsylvania. We expect woodrat populations at these sites to decline, if the roundworm and other factors (e.g., forest fragmentation) are not alleviated.

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Jordan Wolfkill, Maria Elena Bejarano, Thomas L. Serfass, Greg Turner, Sunshine Brosi, Daniel Feller, and Carolyn G. Mahan "The Prevalence of the Raccoon Roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis, in Allegheny Woodrat Habitat in the Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S.A.," The American Midland Naturalist 185(1), 145-147, (11 January 2021). https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-185.1.145

Received: 3 April 2020; Accepted: 10 October 2020; Published: 11 January 2021

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