Question

Predator-Prey

You are a scientist that studies raccoon behavior and diet. Although raccoons are carnivores, they have a very diverse and opportunistic diet. As part of your research you are collecting scats (raccoon poop) from rural areas in the Shawnee National Forest, as well as urban areas (neighborhoods of Carbondale and Marion, Illinois). Explain in detail how you will use the raccoon scats to identify diet items of raccoons (include some of the techniques you will use). Do you expect a difference in diet items between rural and urban areas? Explain why or why not. Name some examples of food items you expect to find in raccoon scats for both rural and urban raccoons. What are some health considerations to keep in mind when studying and handling scats? (This is a discussion question. Please write full sentences with proper grammar. Take care to address every part of this discussion question)

Answer 1

Racoons can be regarded as one of the most omnivorous animals. They eat almost anything they get. Scat analysis can be done to get an idea about their feeding behaviour. The most basic analysis of scat data starts from identifying the prey species that are present in a single scat. The remains of most species can be identified by using reference collections of potential food items. Like fish can be identified by uniquely shaped structures such as jaw bones, vertebral column, ear bones and small mammals can be identified from cranial structures and other bones that survived the digestion process. Consumed plants can be identified macroscopically from seeds and fruits or from cellular characteristics of plant fragments. The frequency of occurrence of different materials in samples of scats is in turn calculated as proportion of all scats collected. The frequencies of occurrence of different materials can be organised in contingency tables and statistically compared by using chi-square or Fisher's exact tests to determine whether diets differ between locations, years, seasons.

A difference in diets is expected between populations of rural and urban areas. As raccoons are omnivorous the will feed on any potential food source. Usually urban areas generate much more waste materials and dumping ground of wastes and dustbins will be a potential food source ( remains of human foods , bio wastes) for raccoons. Some of those items (indigestable )will be present in the scats of raccoons from urban areas.

Some expected components of raccoon scat are - seeds, plant parts ( cellulose, lignin etc.), Exoskeleton of insects, animal furs and hairs, bones, bird's feathers , bones of fishes and different pathogenic microorganisms.

Raccoon feces can carry pathogens that may cause disease. One of the highest health risks is raccoon roundworms, Bayliscacaris procyonis. It can be difficult to diagnose and this can be harmful even fatal to people. The roundworm eggs are passed in feces of infected raccoons and people can become infected by handling and even inhaling the eggs. The infection can cause nausea, liver enlargement, losss of coordination, blindness etc.

Safety measures-

1) Take care to avoid contaminating hands and clothes

2) Always wear disposable gloves while handling scats

3) Wear a N95 rated respirator or cover nose and mouth with mask to prevent accidental ingestion of eggs .

4) Wear rubber boots that can be scrubbed or cover shoes with disposable booties that can be thrown away so that eggs aren't brought into house.