Abstract
Blood samples from 330 lizards of 19 species were collected to investigate the occurrence of haemoparasites. Samplings were performed in areas of upland (terra-firme) forest adjacent to Manaus municipality, Amazonas, Brazil. Blood parasites were detected in 220 (66%) lizards of 12 species and comprised four major groups: Apicomplexa (including haemogregarines, piroplasms, and haemosporidians), trypanosomatids, microfilarid nematodes and viral or bacterial organisms. Order Haemosporida had the highest prevalence, with 118 (35%) animals from 11 species. For lizard species, Uranoscodon superciliosus was the most parasitised host, with 103 (87%; n = 118) positive individuals. This species also presented the highest parasite diversity, with the occurrence of six taxa. Despite the difficulties attributed by many authors regarding the use of morphological characters for taxonomic resolution of haemoparasites, our low-cost approach using light microscopy recorded a high prevalence and diversity of blood parasite taxa in a relatively small number of host species. This report is the first survey of haemoparasites in lizards in the study region. It revealed a high diversity of lizard haemoparasites and highlights the need to understand their impacts on hosts.
Highlights
The protozoologist Dr Ralph Lainson (1992) two decades ago in his work on neglected parasites in the Amazonia basin quoted a phrase from P.C.C
The study was conducted in four upland forest sites in Brazilian Central Amazonia, all located in the State of Amazonas, Brazil (Figure 1)
We observed a high prevalence of blood parasites among lizards from Central Amazonia: more than half of the sampled individuals and species were infected
Summary
The protozoologist Dr Ralph Lainson (1992) two decades ago in his work on neglected parasites in the Amazonia basin quoted a phrase from P.C.C. Extinction, alteration in the abundance or introduction of parasites can have profound impacts on the health of a large number of free-living species (Dobson et al 2008), because parasites are ecologically involved in important mechanisms that regulate wildlife populations and structure communities (Tompkins & Begon 1999, Thomas et al 2000). They may influence their host biological processes, such as sexual selection (Ehman & Scott 2002, MegíaPalma et al 2018), predation and competition dynamics (Schall 1992, Garcia-Longoria et al 2015), as well as speciation and extinction processes (Anderson & May 1978, Poulin 1999, Prenter et al 2004)
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