Departamento de Producción Agrícola y Animal, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Unidad Xochimilco Calzada del Hueso 1100, Col. Villa Quietud, Delegación Coyoacán, Mexico, DF, 04960, Mexico,
Parasitol Res. 2014 Jan;113(1):447-50. doi: 10.1007/s00436-013-3735-2. Epub 2013 Dec 15.
Reduced species diversity has been suggested to increase transmission rates and prevalence of infectious diseases. While this theory has been studied mostly in single pathogen systems, little is known regarding multiple pathogens systems in vertebrates at the community level. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of host richness and diversity on multiple parasite systems on a local scale. We captured small rodents and collected feces in three different vegetation types in a natural protected area in Janos, Chihuahua, Mexico. The flotation technique was used to identify parasite eggs or oocysts. Analysis of linear correlations was conducted between parasite prevalence and host and parasite diversity and richness. Negative correlation was detected between parasite prevalence and host diversity (p = 0.02 r(2) =-0.86), but no significant correlations was detected between parasite prevalence and host richness or parasite diversity or richness. Our study shows that at local scale, host diversity could affect multiple parasite systems in the same way that single pathogens do. Further studies should be performed on larger temporal and spatial scales to more thoroughly investigate the correlation observed in our analysis.
物种多样性的减少被认为会增加传染病的传播率和流行率。虽然这一理论在单一病原体系统中得到了广泛研究，但在脊椎动物的群落水平上，对多种病原体系统知之甚少。本研究旨在评估宿主丰富度和多样性对当地范围内多种寄生虫系统的影响。我们在墨西哥恰帕斯州 Janos 的一个自然保护区的三种不同植被类型中捕获小型啮齿动物并收集粪便。采用浮选技术来鉴定寄生虫卵或卵囊。在宿主和寄生虫多样性和丰富度与寄生虫流行率之间进行线性相关分析。寄生虫流行率与宿主多样性呈负相关（p = 0.02 r² =-0.86），但寄生虫流行率与宿主丰富度或寄生虫多样性之间没有显著相关性。我们的研究表明，在局部尺度上，宿主多样性可能会以与单一病原体相同的方式影响多种寄生虫系统。应该在更大的时间和空间尺度上进行进一步的研究，以更彻底地调查我们分析中观察到的相关性。
