Ecological nuance and comparative parasitology of sympatric canids in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

Authors

C N Love, S C Webster, D Shamovich, M E Byrne, T G Hinton, P E Schlichting, J C Beasley, V Dombrovski, S L Lance

Published in

International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife. Volume 31. Pages 101281. Epub Sep 04, 2026.

Abstract

Anthropogenic environmental contamination, including ionizing radiation, can reshape host-parasite dynamics through direct and indirect ecological pathways, yet parasite communities in radioactively contaminated landscapes remain poorly characterized. Wildlife from the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) are chronically exposed to elevated ionizing radiation across a heterogeneous contamination gradient and human-abandoned landscape, offering a rare opportunity to examine host-parasite-environment interactions under long-term radiation exposure. We characterized pathogen and parasite communities in two sympatric wild canids, gray wolves (Canis lupus) and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), from the Polesye State Radiation Ecological Reserve, Belarus, and generated individual total ¹³⁷Cs dose estimates to explore dose-infection relationships. Using fecal flotation, RT-qPCR, and serology, we identified 18 and 9 parasite taxa in wolves and raccoon dogs, respectively. Preliminary correlations between individual radiation dose and gastrointestinal parasite infection were uniformly variable. Parasite taxonomy and transmission strategy also appear to modulate dose-response direction in a host-specific manner. Thus, ecological differences between wolves and raccoon dogs may be more important than radiation alone in influencing parasite community structure. Our results establish foundational baseline data for future studies on CEZ canid parasite assemblages and underscore the complexity of disentangling radiation effects from ecological drivers in contaminated landscapes.

PMID:
42859625
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Oct 2026.

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