Abstract
Abstract: Parasites are an important component of the global biomass, having significant roles in several regulatory mechanisms in the ecosystem. Parasitism is one of the most common ecological interactions on the planet. Studies have shown that the helminth fauna of only 8% of amphibian species in Brazil have been studied, and this percentage is lower for the Odontophrynidae family, with only four of the 50 species kown to occur in Brazil having been investigated. Here, we present the helminth fauna of Proceratophrys ararype, an anuran endemic to the “Brejo de Altitude” Chapada do Araripe (Araripe Plateau), northeastern Brazil. The infection parameters analyzed were prevalence, mean intensity of infection and mean abundance of parasites. We used the Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient to check the correlations between the abundance of the parasites with the snout-vent length (SVL) of hosts. To verify the degree of aggregation of parasites in hosts, we used the dispersion index. Out of 40 specimens examined, 19 specimens were infected with at least one parasite. The overall prevalence was 47.5% with a mean infection intensity of 18.93 ± 10.77. The endoparasitic community associated with P. ararype consisted of six species of parasites, with Falcaustra mascula having the highest prevalence (25%). Most parasites had a uniform dispersion index in the hosts and their abundance was unrelated to host size. Here, we also present a compilation of all parasites associated with host species of the genus Proceratophrys from South America. Overall, we found 23 species of parasites associated with five host species (P. ararype, P. appendiculata, P. boiei, P. cristiceps, P. mantiqueira). Of these, two species of parasites (Oswaldocruzia mazzai and Strongyloides sp.) represent new records for the genus Proceratophrys. Our results demonstrate the lack of studies on amphibian helminth fauna and fill an important knowledge gap on the diversity of parasites of Proceratophrys ararype, an endemic frog from the Araripe Plateau, northeastern Brazil.
Highlights
50 species of the Odontophrynidae family have been identified, with the genus Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 making up 40 species registered in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay (Segalla et al 2019, Mângia et al 2020, Frost 2021)
We describe the composition and patterns of parasitic infection of helminths associated with P. ararype, an endemic frog from Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil, and present a compilation of all parasites associated with host species of the genus Proceratophrys from South America
In our literature data compilation, we found, in general, five host species (P. ararype, P. appendiculata, P. boiei, P. cristiceps, P. mantiqueira) being parasitized by 23 helminth species
Summary
50 species of the Odontophrynidae family have been identified, with the genus Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 making up 40 species registered in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay (Segalla et al 2019, Mângia et al 2020, Frost 2021). The P. cristiceps group comprises 14 species including P. ararype Mângia, Koroiva, Nunes, Roberto, Ávila, Sant’Anna, Santana & Garda, 2018 (Ávila et al 2011, Brandão et al 2013, Mângia et al 2018) This species was identified from specimens collected at the slope of Chapada do Araripe, a humid forest in the municipality of Crato, state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The study of parasitic fauna is extremely important due to the roles they have in several regulatory mechanisms within the ecosystem, including the negative effects they have on their hosts such as anaemia, anorexia, reduced survival and fertility, and competition (Vitt & Caldwell 2009, Matias et al 2018) The study of these organisms contributes to our knowledge of animal diversity, and clarifies the parasite dynamics of the host (Brooks & Hoberg 2001, Galli et al 2001, Poulin 2014), because the richness of parasite species can be assumed as a characteristic of the host, where rates of parasite colonization vary according to biology of hosts (Poulin 2014, Campião et al 2015). We describe the composition and patterns of parasitic infection of helminths associated with P. ararype, an endemic frog from Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil, and present a compilation of all parasites associated with host species of the genus Proceratophrys from South America
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