Animal Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Biosciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso Do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, 79070-900, Brazil.
Information and Communication Technology Agency, Federal University of Mato Grosso Do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, 79070-900, Brazil.
Parasitol Res. 2022 Jan;121(1):11-19. doi: 10.1007/s00436-021-07378-3. Epub 2021 Nov 25.
Hosts represent discrete habitats that contain finite parasite communities, and individual hosts can be used as replicates in parasitism studies, such as investigations of the processes that mediate the formation of parasite communities. However, within a single host population, there may be singularities among individuals that affect parasite contact rates. Accordingly, the goals of the present study were to document the parasites associated with the small treefrog Scinax fuscovarius, to verify possible variation and co-occurrences in parasite infracommunities, and to assess the effects of host characteristics (size and sex) on infracommunity structure. Treefrog specimens (n = 75) were collected from the Bodoquena Mountains in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. After collection, the specimens were transported to the laboratory, and examined for parasitic. The parasites found were removed, fixed, and identified. Patterns in parasite infracommunity organization were analyzed using the checkerboard score index, which was calculated using a presence-absence matrix. The matrix was randomized under the null hypothesis that the infracommunities independently represent the component community. Forty-two (56%) of the individuals harbored at least one parasite, and a total of 500 metazoan parasites were recovered, with a particularly rich composite community of 18 taxa, including 13 nematodes, two trematodes, one cestode, one oligochaete, and one mite larvae. The parasite species were randomly distributed among the infracommunities, with no evidence of co-occurrence, segregation, or aggregation. However, both body size and sex influenced infection, with larger hosts harboring more parasites and parasites were more abundant in male specimens and more species rich in female specimens. These results suggest that the parasite infracommunities of S. fuscovarius are shaped by both random factors and individual host characteristics.
宿主代表离散的栖息地，其中包含有限的寄生虫群落，个体宿主可以在寄生虫研究中用作重复样本，例如研究介导寄生虫群落形成的过程。然而，在单个宿主群体中，个体之间可能存在影响寄生虫接触率的奇点。因此，本研究的目的是记录与小树蛙 Scinax fuscovarius 相关的寄生虫，验证寄生虫亚群落中可能存在的变异和共存，并评估宿主特征（大小和性别）对亚群落结构的影响。从小树蛙标本（n=75）从巴西马托格罗索州的博多奎纳山脉采集。采集后，将标本运送到实验室，并进行寄生虫检查。发现的寄生虫被取出、固定和鉴定。使用 checkerboard 得分指数分析寄生虫亚群落组织的模式，该指数使用存在-缺失矩阵计算。在亚群落独立代表组成群落的零假设下，对矩阵进行随机化。42 个（56%）个体至少携带一种寄生虫，共回收 500 个后生动物寄生虫，复合群落特别丰富，有 18 个分类群，包括 13 种线虫、2 种吸虫、1 种绦虫、1 种寡毛纲动物和 1 种螨幼虫。寄生虫物种在亚群落中随机分布，没有证据表明共存、分离或聚集。然而，体型和性别都影响感染，体型较大的宿主携带更多的寄生虫，雄性标本中的寄生虫更为丰富，雌性标本中的寄生虫更为丰富。这些结果表明，S. fuscovarius 的寄生虫亚群落是由随机因素和个体宿主特征共同塑造的。
