Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the reproductive biology and parasitology of Didelphis albiventris in an agroecosystem landscape under hunting pressure. The study was carried out monthly from February 2004 to January 2005 in Exaltacion de la Cruz, Buenos Aires, Argentina. A total of 179 individuals from pouch young to age class VI were captured by manual extraction during the study. There were two distinct reproductive events during the breeding season, which lasted from mid-August to the end of February. Females produced two litters per breeding season, with a mean litter size of 8.75. In total, 13% of the opossums analyzed were infected with Leptospira interrogans. Seropositive individuals were detected from summer to mid-winter. Prevalence was positively correlated with the accumulated precipitation of the previous month. In total, 4% of the individuals were infected with Salmonella enterica. We did not detect differences in prevalence between sexes and age classes for Leptospira sp. or for Salmonella sp. In addition, there was no association between relatedness, seropositiveness and the type of serovar present. We did not detect the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi or Trichinella spiralis in any of the opossums analyzed.
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