Evaluation of genetic variability in the collared peccary Pecari tajacu and the white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari by microsatellite markers

In this study, the microsatellite technique was used to evaluate the genetic variability in populations of collared and white-lipped peccaries kept in captivity. Six primers developed for domestic pigs were used and amplified in both species. They revealed the presence of five polymorphic loci and one monomorphic locus. The polymorphic loci included 4 of the 16 alleles in collared peccaries, and 3 of the 10 alleles in the white-lipped peccaries. Polymorphic information content (PIC) in both species and all the loci was highly informative. The probability of paternity exclusion (PEC), if one of the parents is known, was almost as high in white-lipped peccaries (95.53%) as in the collared (99,48%). The Fst values for collared (0.042) and white-lipped (0.1387) peccaries showed that both populations are not structured. The Fis values for all loci, except ACTG2 in white-lipped peccaries (-0.0275) and in both species (0.1985 to 0.9284 in collared peccaries and 0.3621 to 0.4754 in the white-lipped), revealed a high level of homozygosis, probably caused by inbreeding. Data on heterologous amplification and genetic variability in collared and white-lipped peccaries are presented for the first time.     

Diet Overlap and Foraging Activity between Feral Pigs and Native Peccaries in the Pantanal

Inter-specific competition is considered one of the main selective pressures affecting species distribution and coexistence. Different species vary in the way they forage in order to minimize encounters with their competitors and with their predators. However, it is still poorly known whether and how native species change their foraging behavior in the presence of exotic species, particularly in South America. Here we compare diet overlap of fruits and foraging activity period of two sympatric native ungulates (the white-lipped peccary, Tayassu pecari, and the collared peccary, Pecari tajacu) with the invasive feral pig (Sus scrofa) in the Brazilian Pantanal. We found high diet overlap between white-lipped peccaries and feral pigs, but low overlap between collared peccaries and feral pigs. Furthermore, we found that feral pigs may influence the foraging period of both native peccaries, but in different ways. In the absence of feral pigs, collared peccary activity peaks in the early evening, possibly allowing them to avoid white-lipped peccary activity peaks, which occur in the morning. In the presence of feral pigs, collared peccaries forage mostly in early morning, while white-lipped peccaries forage throughout the day. Our results indicate that collared peccaries may avoid foraging at the same time as white-lipped peccaries. However, they forage during the same periods as feral pigs, with whom they have lower diet overlap. Our study highlights how an exotic species may alter interactions between native species by interfering in their foraging periods.     

Kinetics of spermatogenesis in the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari)

This study aimed to characterize the stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle by the tubular morphology method, and to determine the number of differentiated spermatogonia generations in the adult white-lipped peccary. Twenty adult white-lipped peccaries, obtained from commercial slaughterhouse, were used. Fragments of the testicular parenchyma were fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde and embedded into a methacrylate resin. The number of germ and Sertoli cells was estimated by the analysis of cell populations in 50 transversal sections of seminiferous tubules in different stages of the cycle. The tubular morphology method allowed the identification of cellular associations characteristic of the eight stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle in white-lipped peccaries. The results showed the presence of six generations of differentiated spermatogonia in white-lipped peccaries, and that the cell composition of the eight stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle in this species is very similar to that described for collared peccaries.     

The defensive behavioral patterns of captive white-lipped and collared peccary (Mammalia,Tayassuidae): an approach for conservation of the species

Defensive behavioral patterns in response to human-induced rapid environmental change can affect animals’ fitness and may play a role in species conservation status. To test this hypothesis, we compared the risk assessment and defensive behavioral responses of captive white-lipped peccary (WLP; Tayassu pecari) and collared peccary (CP; Pecari tajacu), which retain different conservation status; WLP are considered vulnerable and CP of least concern. We used an adapted paradigm of the mouse defense test battery (MDTB) comprising four consecutive tests. Two of these tests simulated a novel environment, while the other two stimulated the expression of defensive behavioral patterns. Besides differences in risk assessment and defensive threat/attack behavioral patterns between species, we compared flight initiation distance, flight speed, and plasma glucocorticoid concentrations. When facing a novel environment and risk challenges from humans’ predator-like cues, the white-lipped peccary showed more exploratory and defensive threat/attack behavioral patterns, shorter flight initiation distances, and lower flight speeds, whereas the collared peccaries showed more cautious and retreat patterns, longer flight initiation distances, and higher flight speeds. There were also correlations between physiological and behavioral parameters. We confirmed our hypothesis that the collared peccary’s cautiousness may help to prevent a decrease in its population, while the white-lipped peccary’s exploratory and confrontational behavioral patterns in overhunted areas, together with other simultaneous factors as forest fragmentation, might contribute to placing this species in the vulnerable category.     

Description of collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) milk composition

Composition of collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) milk was described for samples obtained from a group of four captive females maintained on a high quality diet and four wild-caught females inhabiting semiarid rangelands in southern Texas. The gross composition of peccary and porcine milks are fairly similar, with some differences in mineral composition. Results suggest that bottle formulations developed for domestic swine piglets would provide adequate nutrition for hand-rearing nursling peccaries.     

Function,size and form of the gastrointestinal tract of the collared <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pecari tajacu</Emphasis> (Linnaeus 1758) and white-lipped peccary <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tayassu pecari</Emphasis> (Link 1795)

The peccary digestive tract is characterised by an elaborate forestomach. In order to further characterise the digestive function of peccaries, we report body mass, digestive organ mass, content mass of the gastrointestinal tract compartments and their length and width, as well as liver, parotis and mandibular gland mass. Our data on eleven collared and four white-lipped peccaries suggest that peccaries have a small relative stomach volume compared to other foregut fermenters, which implies a comparatively lower fermentative capacity and thus forage digestibility. The forestomach could enable peccaries to deal, in conjunction with their large parotis glands, with certain plant toxins (e.g. oxalic acid). The finding of sand being trapped in the forestomach blindsacs could indicate a disadvantage of the peccary forestomach design. The relevance of the forestomach to peccaries remains enigmatic.     

The influence of urea feeding on the bacterial and archaeal community in the forestomach of collared peccary (Artiodactyla, Tayassuidae)

Aims:  This study was carried out to test whether bacterial and archaeal populations, and products of fermentation in each compartment of collared peccary stomach, vary significantly with urea feeding. Bacteria and archaeal population variation among the four stomach compartments were also compared.
Methods and Results:  Archaeal and bacterial communities in the forestomach of four individuals per treatment – peccaries fed diets with and without urea – were analysed at molecular level using PCR followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Volatile fatty acids profiles in the three different compartments of the forestomach were also compared. The bacterial community composition varied considerably among each compartment and with urea provision, but no variation was observed between archaeal populations. Differences in bacterial communities between treatments – with and without urea – were greater than amongst stomach compartments. The acetate: propionate proportion decreased with urea provision in diet. Some differences in bacterial but not archaeal community composition were observed in each compartment of the collared peccary forestomach.
Conclusions:  There are some differences in bacterial but not archaeal populations in each compartment of collared peccary stomach. Use of urea in the diet of peccary can substantially modify the profile of volatile fatty acids released in its forestomach, but does not influence the archaeal community composition. Urea has an important effect on bacterial population DGGE profile present in the peccary's forestomach.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  These results demonstrate the ability of the collared peccary to use urea as source of nonprotein nitrogen, and confirm a hypothesis that the collared peccary has a digestive physiology more similar to ruminant than nonruminant animals.     

Intraspecific aggression results in death of a collared peccary

An adult male collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) caught from the wild was released into an outdoor enclosure containing 12 other wild adult peccaries. The introduced male died of severe infection as a result of scrotal wounds inflicted by resident peccaries.     

Chromosomal evolution and phylogenetic analyses in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tayassu pecari</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pecari tajacu</Emphasis> (Tayassuidae): tales from constitutive heterochromatin

The mammalian family Tayassuidae (peccaries) is confined to the New World and comprises three recognized extant species, white-lipped (Tayassu pecari), collared (Pecari tajacu) and chacoan (Catagonus wagneri) peccaries, which exhibit distinct morphological and chromosomal features. The phylogenetic relationships among the tayassuids are unclear and have instigated debate over the palaeontological, cytogenetic and molecular aspects. Constitutive heterochromatin analysis can be used in understanding the phylogenetic relationships between related species. Here we describe, for the first time, the constitutive heterochromatin (C-positive heterochromatin) of two tayassuid species, Tayassu pecari and Pecari tajacu. We demonstrate that in situ restriction endonuclease digestion with sequential C-banding could be a complementary tool in the study of constitutive heterochromatin heterogeneity in chromosomes of the Tayassuidae. Our characterization of peccary chromosomes suggests that the Pecari tajacu autosomal karyotype is more primitive and has accumulated great diversity in its constitutive heterochromatin. This idea is supported by several other studies that analysed nuclear and mitochondrial sequences of the living peccary species. Finally, the tayassuid X chromosome primitive form seems to be the one of Tayassu pecari.     

Collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) behavioral reactions toward a dead member of the herd

Humans, elephants, chimpanzees, and cetaceans show concern with the death of other members of their species and respond to death in particular ways. Science considers that these species are exceptions and that other mammal species show little or no reaction to the dead bodies of individuals of their species. Collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu; Tayassuidae) are social animals that live in groups of 5–50 individuals maintaining close and complex social relationships. The collared peccary occupies many different environments and it is widely distributed from the south of North America to the north of Argentina. Their behavior is well studied, but we know little about their behavior toward the dead. We directly observed and filmed with a camera trap the reactions of a five‐member herd of collared peccaries to the death of a herd member. We worked on a suburban forested area in the mountains of central Arizona. We found that the herd visited and spent time with the dead body for 10 days after the peccary died. The frequency of the visits declined until the cadaver was consumed by coyotes. Most of the videos showed two individuals visited the dead animal (44%), solitary records were also frequent (39%) and only 4% of the videos recorded three peccaries. Visits were more frequent during the night (64%). Peccaries do react to the death of a herd member by behaving in particular ways. Reactions include pushing at the dead individual, staring at it, biting it, and trying to pick it up by putting their snout under the corpse and pushing it up, and defending it from coyotes, among others. These levels of behavioral complexity for peccaries are beyond those known so far. The behaviors of this herd of peccaries resemble those of humans, cetaceans, chimpanzees, and elephants and show that these groups are not the only ones that react to death.     

Serologic survey for antibodies to canine distemper virus in collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) populations in Arizona

In 1989, a disease outbreak was observed among collared peccaries (javelina, Tayassu tajacu) in southern Arizona (USA) and canine distemper virus (CDV) was isolated from affected animals. Subsequently, 364 sera were collected from hunter-harvested javelina over a 4 yr period (1993-96) and were tested for antibody to CDV. Neutralizing antibody to CDV was detected in 58% of the serum samples suggesting that CDV infection is probably enzootic in the collared peccary populations of southern Arizona.     

Karyotypic conservatism in the suborder Feliformia (Order Carnivora)

Multidirectional comparative chromosome painting was used to investigate the karyotypic relationships among representative species from three Feliformia families of the order Carnivora (Viverridae, Hyaenidae and Felidae). Complete sets of painting probes derived from flow-sorted chromosomes of the domestic dog, American mink, and human were hybridized onto metaphases of the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta, 2n = 40) and masked palm civet (Paguma larvata, 2n = 44). Extensive chromosomal conservation is evident in these two species when compared with the cat karyotype, and only a few events of chromosome fusion, fission and inversion differentiate the karyotypes of these Feliformia species. The comparative chromosome painting data have enabled the integration of the hyena and palm civet chromosomes into the previously established comparative map among the domestic cat, domestic dog, American mink and human and improved our understanding on the karyotype phylogeny of Feliformia species.     

Ungulate biomass in relation to feeding strategy within Amazonian forests

Summary The relationship between diet and biomass was examined in the Amazonian ungulates (red brocket deer, grey brocket deer, collared peccary, white-lipped peccary, and lowland tapir) of Northeastern Peru. Tropical forest ungulates have lower biomasses than savanna or grassland ungulates, because in tropical forests the majority of primary production occurs in the canopy, well out of reach from terrestrial herbivores. Within the Amazonian ungulates, species that supplement their diet with animal material, namely the peccaries, obtain a greater crude and metabolic biomass, and higher reproductive rates than the purely herbivorous species. Omnivory appears to help terrestrial herbivores inhabiting closed canopy forests overcome some effects of food limitation.     

Endocrine and metabolic responses of the collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) to immobilization with ketamine hydrochloride

Serial physiological responses were examined for 150 min from captive collared peccaries during immobilization with ketamine hydrochloride. Rectal temperatures decreased significantly (P less than 0.01) during anesthesia. Serum concentrations of total proteins, albumin, cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, and calcium declined significantly (P less than 0.05) during the first 45 min post-immobilization before stabilizing. Concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase in sera showed similar but nonsignificant (P greater than 0.05) trends. Inorganic phosphorus and aspartate aminotransferase concentrations increased significantly (P less than 0.05) throughout the trial. Concentrations of serum glucose and glucocorticoid during the immobilization period were highly variable between individuals. Serum electrolytes, urea nitrogen, creatinine, gammaglutamyl transferase and progesterone were not significantly (P greater than 0.05) affected by immobilization. Elevations in serum testosterone were noted. Results indicated appropriate sampling times relative to immobilization for assay of particular serum biochemicals and steroid hormones during investigations of the physiology of the collared peccary.     

Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in wild white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) from Peru

In the Peruvian Amazon, the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) is a desirable game species and is important for the local rural economy. Blood samples from 101 white-lipped peccaries from Peru were collected from 3 different conservation areas located in the municipalities of Manu and Tambopata, southeastern region of the Peruvian Amazon. Antibodies were assayed using the modified agglutination test (MAT, cut of value of 25). Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii were found in 89.1% (90 of 101) of animals, with titers of 1 ∶ 25 in 9, 1 ∶ 50 in 25, 1 ∶ 100 in 20, 1 ∶ 200 in 14, 1 ∶ 400 in 12, 1 ∶ 800 in 9, and 1 ∶ 3,200 in 1; 87.7% and 89.2% of males and females, respectively, tested positively, and no association (P ≥ 0.05) with gender and occurrence of antibodies was observed.     

Seasonal diet of Tayassu pecari (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica

The diet of the white-lipped peccari Tayassu pecari was studied from July 1996 to April 1997 in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica, through fecal analysis and direct observations. The feces consisted of 61.6% fruits, 37.5% vegetative parts, 0.4% invertebrates and 0.5% unidentified material. These proportions are similar to those reported for white-lipped peccaries diet in South America, but the species consumed were different. In Corcovado, the white-lipped peccary fed on parts of 57 plant species (37 of them fruits). Moraceae was the most represented family. In contrast, the diet of the Peruvian Amazon peccary primarily consists of plant parts (Arecaceae). Costa Rican peccary diet consisted of vegetative parts from Araceae and Heliconaceae. Direct observation showed that peccaries spent 30% of feeding time rooting. Samples taken from rooting sites suggest that peccaries fed on earthworms. Diet differed between months, seasons and habitats. They ate more fruits in coastal and primary forests and more vegetative parts in secondary forest. In the months Octubrer and November the consumption of vegetative parts exceeded fruit consumption.     

Microvascularization on collared peccary placenta: a microvascular cast study [corrected] in late pregnancy

The microvascularization of the collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) placenta was studied by vascular casts and immunolocalization of α-smooth muscle actin and vimentin, to identify the three dimensional organization and vascular flow interrelation in the microvasculature between the maternal and fetal compartments of the placentae. The immunolocalization of vimentin in the vascular endothelium and in the smooth muscle cells of blood vessels showed indented capillaries along the uterine epithelium and the trophoblast at the sides of complementary maternal and fetal microfolds, or rugae. This confers the three-dimensional structure observed in vascular casts. On the maternal side, casts demonstrated uterine folds coated by with primary and secondary ridges, and by areolae dispersed between these ridges. The arteriole runs through the center/middle of ridges, branching at the top into a microvascular network wall in a basket-like fashion. At the base of these baskets venules were formed. On the fetal side, arterioles branched centrally in the fetal rugae into a capillary network in a bulbous form, complementary to the opposite maternal depressions forming the baskets. At the base of the bulbous protrusions, the fetal venules arise. The blood vessel orientation in the materno-fetal interface of the placentae of collared peccaries suggests a blood flow pattern of the type countercurrent to cross current. The same pattern has been reported in domestic swine demonstrating that, even after 38 million years, the Tayassuidae and Suidae families exhibit similar placental morphology, which is here characterized at the microvascular level.     

Peccary movements as determinants of the movements of large cats in Brazilian Amazonia

As part of a study on the ecology of a community of middle-sized and larger mammals in a seasonally dry forest in the far north of the Brazilian Amazonia, peccaries (the white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari and the collared peccary Tayassu tajacu ) and large cats (the jaguar Panthera onca and the puma Puma concolor ) were regularly surveyed for 1 year. Diurnal and nocturnal surveys were carried out by the line-transect method, in five different forest types along a 10 km transect, and data were collected on their use of the forest types. The peccary herds and the large cats were sighted regularly throughout the study period, but more frequently over the dry season in the high-ground forests in eastern Maracá. Over the dry season, when food was scarce except in the Buritizals, T. pecari , closely followed by a P. onca , monopolized the Buritizal forests, whereas T. tajacu , followed by a P. concolor , exploited the other available high-ground forest types. Fluctuations in food supply regulated the dynamics of the two species of peccaries, which ultimately determined the whereabouts of the large cat predators. This may be a counter-strategy to survive in an extremely seasonal environment where food, more than any other variable, is the key determinant of the survival of both peccaries and large cats.     

Frugivory in Amazonian Artiodactyla: evidence for the evolution of the ruminant stomach

Red and grey brocket deer and collared and white-lipped peccary of the Peruvian Amazon are frugivores and consume many types of seeds. The ruminant stomach of brocket deer functions as a mechanism to digest the abundant hard palm seeds of Iriartea sp., Euterpe sp. and Mauritia flexuosa . The sympatric peccaries also consume hard palm seeds; however, peccaries crack these palms by using their strong jaws, thick skull bones and interlocking canines. The ruminant stomach might have evolved as a means to digest structural components of seeds, similar to that employed by extant brocket deer, since ancestral ruminants appear to have evolved as smallbodied, forest-dwelling frugivores.