| prairie dogs increase fitness by killing interspecific competitors. | interspecific competition commonly selects for divergence in ecology, morphology or physiology, but direct observation of interspecific competition under natural conditions is difficult. herbivorous white-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys leucurus) employ an unusual strategy to reduce interspecific competition: they kill, but do not consume, herbivorous wyoming ground squirrels (urocitellus elegans) encountered in the prairie dog territories. results from a 6-year study in colorado, usa, revealed tha ... | 2016 | 27009223 |
| comparison of the its1 and its2 rdna in eimeria callospermophili (apicomplexa:eimeriidae) from sciurid rodents. | the taxonomy of the coccidia has historically been morphologically based. the purpose of this study was to establish if conspecificity of isolates of eimeria callospermophili from 4 ground-dwelling squirrel hosts (rodentia: sciuridae) is supported by comparison of rdna sequence data and to examine how this species relates to eimerian species from other sciurid hosts. eimeria callospermophili was isolated from 4 wild-caught hosts, i.e., urocitellus elegans, cynomys leucurus, marmota flaviventris ... | 2011 | 21506777 |
| eimerian guilds (apicomplexa: eimeriidae) in richardson's (spermophilus richardsonii) and wyoming (spermophilus elegans) ground squirrels. | feces of richardson's ground squirrels (spermophilus richardsonii) were examined to determine occurrence and prevalence of eimerian species and to compare guilds in these hosts to previously described guilds from wyoming ground squirrels (spermophilus elegans). six species of eimeria were collected from 100 richardson's ground squirrels: eimeria beecheyi (36% infected); eimeria bilamellata (13%); eimeria callospermophili-eimeria morainensis complex (41%); eimeria lateralis (6%); and eimeria sper ... | 1993 | 8277397 |
| coccidian assemblages in the wyoming ground squirrel, spermophilus elegans elegans. | one thousand nineteen wyoming ground squirrels (spermophilus elegans elegans) from 4 populations in southern wyoming were examined for intestinal parasites. the most prevalent parasites were 6 species of coccidia: eimeria beecheyi, eimeria bilamellata, eimeria callospermophili, eimeria larimerensis, eimeria morainensis, and eimeria spermophili. most ground squirrels harbored 2 or more species. this eimerian assemblage was present across populations and over years. differences in the prevalence o ... | 1992 | 1556646 |
| predicting above-ground density and distribution of small mammal prey species at large spatial scales. | grassland and shrub-steppe ecosystems are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. loss of native habitats may negatively impact important small mammal prey species. little information, however, is available on the impact of habitat variability on density of small mammal prey species at broad spatial scales. we examined the relationship between small mammal density and remotely-sensed environmental covariates in shrub-steppe and grassland ecosystems in wyoming, usa. we sampled four s ... | 2017 | 28520757 |
| effects of eimerian (apicomplexa: eimeriidae) infections on nutrient assimilation in the wyoming ground squirrel. | effects of infection with mixed species of eimeria (e. callospermophili, e. morainensis, and e. beecheyi) on the digestive physiology of wyoming ground squirrels (spermophilus elegans) are described. infected and uninfected squirrels were administered arginine and methionine in saturated glucose solution. blood was drawn at time 0 and 30 min postadministration. significant differences were not found between infected and uninfected squirrels in plasma glucose, arginine, or methionine assimilation ... | 1992 | 1403432 |
| peridomestic mammal susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. | wild animals have been implicated as the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2), but it is largely unknown how the virus affects most wildlife species and if wildlife could ultimately serve as a reservoir for maintaining the virus outside the human population. we show that several common peridomestic species, including deer mice, bushy-tailed woodrats, and striped skunks, are susceptible to infection and can shed the virus in respiratory secretions. in contrast, w ... | 2021 | 34286685 |