Lewis J W, Morley N J, Behnke J M
Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK.
School of Life Sciences, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
J Helminthol. 2023 Feb 7;97:e18. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X22000876.
Helminth parasites of the wood mouse, ( = 440), were surveyed in five localities, comprising woodland and grassland sites, in Southern England. Seven species of helminths were identified, among which and were dominant (prevalence = 79.1% and 54.1%, respectively). Less common species were the trematode (14.8%), cestodes (8.4%), (4.1%) and (3.4%) and the nematode (0.2%). Differences in prevalences between localities were found for , and and in abundances of , and . Age-dependent increases in both parameters were identified among species and for helminth species richness. The only species to show significant host sex bias was with prevalence values being higher in male mice. A number of different methods for exploiting raw data, and data corrected for significant confounding factors, were used to determine whether there were significant associations (prevalence) between species or quantitative interactions (abundance). The strongest evidence for a positive association was shown in concurrent infections with the trematode and the cestode (significant in the whole dataset and evident in each locality, both sexes and both age classes). The abundance of was also higher in mice with and vice versa. Overall, however, there was little support for associations or quantitative interactions between species, especially after data had been corrected for significant extrinsic/intrinsic factors, and we conclude that the helminths of wood mice in these communities are largely non-interactive and hence, perhaps better referred to as assemblages.
对英格兰南部五个包括林地和草地的地点的林姬鼠（Apodemus sylvaticus，n = 440）体内的蠕虫寄生虫进行了调查。鉴定出七种蠕虫，其中Heligmosomoides polygyrus和Nippostrongylus brasiliensis占主导地位（感染率分别为79.1%和54.1%）。较不常见的物种有吸虫Alaria alata（14.8%）、绦虫Taenia taeniaeformis（8.4%）、Hymenolepis microstoma（4.1%）和H. nana（3.4%）以及线虫Syphacia obvelata（0.2%）。发现不同地点间Heligmosomoides polygyrus、Nippostrongylus brasiliensis和Syphacia obvelata的感染率存在差异，以及A. alata、H. microstoma和T. taeniaeformis的丰度存在差异。在物种以及蠕虫物种丰富度方面，均发现这两个参数随年龄增长而增加。唯一表现出显著宿主性别偏差的物种是N. brasiliensis，雄性小鼠的感染率更高。使用了多种不同方法来处理原始数据以及针对显著混杂因素校正后的数据，以确定物种之间是否存在显著关联（感染率）或定量相互作用（丰度）。吸虫A. alata和绦虫T. taeniaeformis同时感染时表现出最强的正相关证据（在整个数据集中显著，且在每个地点、两性和两个年龄组中均明显）。感染A. alata的小鼠中T. taeniaeformis的丰度也更高，反之亦然。然而，总体而言，物种之间的关联或定量相互作用几乎没有得到支持，尤其是在数据针对显著的外在/内在因素进行校正之后，我们得出结论，这些群落中林姬鼠的蠕虫在很大程度上是非相互作用的，因此，或许更适合称为组合。
