Investigating the free-roaming dog population and gastrointestinal parasite diversity in Tulum, Mexico.

ABSTRACT: Free-roaming domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) pose major conservation and public health risks worldwide. To better understand the threat of domestic dogs to wildlife and people and add to the growing literature on free-roaming dog ecology, a study was conducted to estimate the dog population in Tulúm, México. A modified mark-recapture technique and program MARK were used to obtain dog population estimates along six different transects dividing the city. Population estimates ranged from 19.75 dogs in one transect to 101.841 dogs in another, with 150 total dogs identified throughout the study and an estimated minimum population density of 48.57 dogs/km2. Fecal samples were also opportunistically collected for parasite identification through fecal flotation analysis using the McMaster t

SUBMITTER: Lyons MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9612467 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature