Summary: | In sheep farming, gastrointestinal parasites can be responsible for significant reductions in animal health and production. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fecal excretions are the main determining factors for N<sub>2</sub>O emissions from manure management and may pose other environmental problems, such as the acidification and eutrophication of natural habitats. By using the Mini-FLOTAC technique on fecal samples from sheep of different ages and physiological status from 19 dairy sheep farms in Tuscany (central Italy), gastrointestinal parasite infections were evaluated. The animal N and P fecal contents were also assessed, with the aim of evaluating possible relationships between the identified parasites and the environmental sustainability of the examined farms. The obtained results showed that <i>Eimeria</i> spp. (86.36%) and gastrointestinal strongyle (54.55%) infections are prevalent in the examined farms. Moreover, significantly higher (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) P and <i>Eimeria</i> oocyst/gram-of-feces (OPG) values were found in fecal samples from animals < 1 year of age, and a significant (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) positive correlation resulted between N content and <i>Eimeria</i> OPG in fecal samples from animals in the first month of lactation. The findings from this study suggest for the first time that <i>Eimeria</i> spp. infections may have an impact on the environmental sustainability of sheep farming.
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