Abstract
Rodents are small mammals that can be parasitized by various helminths. This study aimed to identify and describe the ecological indicators of infection in rodents captured in fragments of the Atlantic Forest in the western region of Paraná State, Brazil. Sixty-eight specimens of five rodent species were collected, necropsied, and inspected in search of helminths. The parasites were stored in 70% ethanol, morphologically identified, and counted for calculation of infection indicators. Fourteen species of helminths and one species of Crustacea were recorded: ten in Akodon montensis, four in Mus musculus, two in Thaptomys nigrita, two in Oligoryzomys nigripes, and one in Euryoryzomys russatus. The registered species of parasites were: Rodentolepis akodontis, Angiostrongylus sp., Protospirura numidica criceticola, Trichuris navonae, Syphacia alata, Syphacia criceti, Syphacia evaginata, Trichofreitasia lenti, Stilestrongylus aculeata, Stilestrongylus eta, Stilestrongylus gracielae, Stilestrongylus franciscanus, Stilestrongylus moreli, Stilestrongylus sp., and Pentastomida gen. sp. A positive correlation between the intensity of infection of T. navonae and T. lenti was observed with the body condition index of the host A. montensis. For all species, this study represents a new register of locality, and for eight of them a new host.
Highlights
The Atlantic Forest is one of the biomes that suffers most in the world from the processes of habitat loss and fragmentation (Myers et al, 2000; Mittermeier et al, 2005)
We investigate the influence of host species, sex, and body condition on helminth parasitic intensity and prevalence, and the influence of the landscape on the structural patterns of the helminth community
All analyzed A. montensis were parasitized by helminths
Summary
The Atlantic Forest is one of the biomes that suffers most in the world from the processes of habitat loss and fragmentation (Myers et al, 2000; Mittermeier et al, 2005). Most Atlantic Forest remnants are small and surrounded by an anthropic matrix (Ribeiro et al, 2009) This scenario changes the natural structure of populations and metapopulations of small mammals, favoring the emergence of small and isolated populations (Fahrig, 2003), as well as increasing proximity to human and domestic animal populations (Silva et al, 2018). Rodents are a megadiverse group of mammals, representing 40% to 45% of mammalian species, occupying different biomes (Patton et al, 2015) These animals can act as reservoirs of parasites causing zoonotic diseases (Froeschke & Matthee, 2014), and their eventual proximity to human settlements represent a link between wild and domestic environments, increasing the risk of pathogen transmission to domestic animals and humans (Fundação Nacional de Saúde, 2002; Klimpel et al, 2007; Reperant et al, 2009). We investigate the influence of host species, sex, and body condition on helminth parasitic intensity and prevalence, and the influence of the landscape on the structural patterns of the helminth community
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