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- Title
Examining effects of persistent retroviral infection on fitness and pathogen susceptibility in a natural feline host.
- Authors
Biek, Roman; Ruth, Toni K.; Murphy, Kerry M.; Anderson, Jr., Charles R.; Poss, Mary
- Abstract
Many animal populations carry endemic (i.e., permanently present) viruses but few studies have assessed the demographic consequences of these infections under natural conditions. We examined the effects of chronic infection with FIV>Pco>, a feline retrovirus, on the fitness and pathogen susceptibility of its natural host, the cougar (Puma concolor (L., 1771)), in the wild. Based on data obtained through intensive monitoring of 160 cougars from two populations, we estimated survival and different measures of host fecundity of infected and uninfected individuals. In addition, we used serological data collected from 207 cougars to test whether FIV>Pco> predisposes individuals to a higher probability of infection with other pathogens. We found no evidence for an overall reduction in survival due to FIV>Pco> when accounting for other sources of demographic variation (age, sex, and population). There was a consistent but nonsignificant trend towards poorer reproductive performance in FIV>Pco>-infected females. We found no serological evidence for a higher probability of secondary infections associated with FIV>Pco>. Overall, these results support the premise that chronic FIV>Pco> infection is asymptomatic in its natural cougar host, probably because of a long evolutionary association between virus and host. However, results of stochastic simulations indicate that only larger reductions in annual survival (>20%) can be excluded with confidence. Also, the possibility of a so far unrecognized cost of FIV>Pco> infection on cougar fecundity remains.
- Subjects
DISEASE vectors; VIRUSES; INFECTION; RETROVIRUS diseases; PUMAS; ANIMAL ecology; POPULATION biology; WILDLIFE management; PATHOGENIC microorganisms
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2006, Vol 84, Issue 3, p365
- ISSN
0008-4301
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1139/Z06-006