Helminth community structure of 13 species of anurans from Atlantic rainforest remnants, Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the community composition and structure of the helminths found in 13 anuran species, and to evaluate whether this parasite community is determined by anuran characteristics. We found that the helminth fauna of the amphibians from five anuran families consisted of 13 taxa and that Cosmocercidae gen. sp. was the most prevalent taxon, followed by Oswaldocruzia subauricularis. Host body size was a determining factor of the composition and structure of the parasitic fauna. Helminth abundance and richness were positively correlated with host body size. The host Leptodactylus latrans had the highest helminth richness (n = 8). The frog Hypsiboas faber had the greatest helminth diversity (H' = 0.711). The mean helminth species richness and diversity differed significantly between host species (P < 0.05). Taken together, our data indicate that, in sympatric species of amphibians, the morphological and behavioural characteristics of the hosts are important for structuring the helminth parasite communities.

Helmintos Asociados Con 15 Especies De Anuros De La Meseta De Ibiapaba, en El Noreste De Brasil

“…Host body size can influence the establishment of parasite communities; usually larger individuals offer larger colonization areas providing adequate resources for parasite development and reproduction (Poulin, 2004;Campião et al, 2016b). Besides, some studies suggest that body size influence on species richness and abundance of parasitic helminths (Yoder & Coggins, 2007;Ibrahim, 2008;Hamann et al, 2012Hamann et al, , 2013Toledo et al, 2015Toledo et al, , 2017. In the present study, the overall size and the size of some amphibian individuals were a determining factor in the richness and abundance of parasite species.…”

“…In the present study, the overall size and the size of some amphibian individuals were a determining factor in the richness and abundance of parasite species. According to Toledo et al (2017), this fact may be related to the greater surface area available for colonization by parasites, as well as the greater intake and more diversified diet of larger frogs. However, an interesting case was observed for L. vastus, in which the abundance of parasites were negatively correlated with host size, contrasting to the pattern mentioned above (Poulin, 2004;Yoder & Coggins, 2007;Ibrahim, 2008;Hamann et al, 2012Hamann et al, , 2013Campião et al, 2016b;Toledo et al, 2015Toledo et al, , 2017).…”

“…Rhabdias spp. are pulmonary parasites of anurans and lizards (Baker, 1987;Teles et al, 2015;Campião et al, 2016a;Toledo et al, 2017;Teles et al, 2018). Rhabdias spp.…”

“…About 164 helminth species are currently known for Brazilian amphibians, totaling 57% of the taxa described for South America. However, studies describing the ecological aspects of parasites associated with Brazilian amphibian taxocenosis remain underrepresented in the literature (Toledo et al, 2017;da Graça et al, 2017). Data scarcity is even more pronounced in Documenting parasite diversity and host relationships are needed to understand the role of parasites at different levels of ecological organization (Wood & Johnson, 2015).…”

HELMINTOS INTESTINALES DE HYLODES HEYERI HADDAD, POMBAL & BASTOS, 1996 (ANURA: HYLODIDAE) EN EL BOSQUE ATLÁNTICO, BRASIL

“…Unfortunately, we have a long way to go to a comprehensive perspective on the complexity of the interactive network between frogs and helminths. One important step to reduce this gap is by searching for descriptive notes about the occurrence of hosts, which also generates data on the geographical ranges of the parasites (Toledo et al, 2018).…”