Weaver H J, Smales L R
School of Medical and Applied Science, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD, Australia.
J Parasitol. 2012 Feb;98(1):30-5. doi: 10.1645/GE-2747.1. Epub 2011 Sep 1.
The parasite fauna of many Australian rodents is poorly known. The ectoparasite and helminth faunas of Pseudomys delicatulus, Pseudomys desertor, Pseudomys gracilicaudatus, and Pseudomys hermannsburgensis were determined and compared. In total, 12 species of arthropods, 2 cestodes, and 13 nematodes were found. Species richness of parasites was highest in P. hermannsburgensis and lowest in P. desertor. Despite the sampling effort, the number of parasite species discovered did not reach an asymptote for any of the host species, indicating that the full parasite fauna was not examined. Helminth species richness was highest in the insectivorous P. hermannsburgensis and lower in the obligate herbivores. The structure of parasite component communities was influenced by the social structure of the host species, not surprisingly, with the most highly social species having the highest richness of parasites. Habitat preferences also provided contrast between the helminth component communities, with heligmonellid nematodes occurring in damp woodlands and dominating the parasite fauna of P. gracilicaudatus. Oxyurid nematodes dominated the component communities of the 3 other species, all of which inhabit drier habitats.
许多澳大利亚啮齿动物的寄生虫群落鲜为人知。对细尾伪鼠、荒漠伪鼠、长尾伪鼠和赫氏伪鼠的体外寄生虫和蠕虫群落进行了测定和比较。共发现12种节肢动物、2种绦虫和13种线虫。寄生虫的物种丰富度在赫氏伪鼠中最高，在荒漠伪鼠中最低。尽管进行了采样工作，但任何宿主物种发现的寄生虫物种数量都未达到渐近线，这表明尚未对完整的寄生虫群落进行研究。蠕虫物种丰富度在食虫的赫氏伪鼠中最高，在专性食草动物中较低。寄生虫组成群落的结构受到宿主物种社会结构的影响，不出所料，社会性最强的物种寄生虫丰富度最高。栖息地偏好也使蠕虫组成群落形成对比，Heligmonellid线虫出现在潮湿的林地中，并在长尾伪鼠的寄生虫群落中占主导地位。尖尾线虫在其他3个物种的组成群落中占主导地位，这3个物种都栖息在较干燥的栖息地。
