Metacommunity Structure of Helminths of Necromys lasiurus (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) in Different Land Use Areas in the Brazilian Cerrado.

This study aimed to describe the composition and structure of the helminth metacommunity in the rodent N. lasiurus in the Brazilian Cerrado, Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais, using the analysis of metacommunity structure. Rodents were sampled in 3 habitat types: borders of soybean and corn plantations, pasturelands, and preserved areas of Cerrado borders. Adult helminths of 8 species were found in the gastrointestinal tract: Protospirura numidica criceticola, Physaloptera sp., Pterygodermatites ( Paucipectines) zygodontomis (Spirurida), Stilestrongylus freitasi (Rhabditida), Trichuris navonae (Trichurida) and Syphacia ( Syphacia) alata (Oxiurida) of the Phylum Nematoda; Rodentolepis akodontis (Cyclophyllidea) of the Phylum Platyhelminthes; and Moniliformis sp. (Moniliformida) of the Phylum Acanthocephala. Season and the kind of land use favored some helminths species in this rodent, especially in the plantation area, although diversity was not largely influenced by the land use. Plantation areas could provide an increase in the host abundance and the occurrence of other rodent species, favoring a higher rate of parasite exchange among different hosts. A checkerboard structure of metacommunity was found on the infracommunity scale, which suggests the existence of interspecific competition. A quasi-nested structure of metacommunity was observed on the component community scale showing that most species were influenced by the same environmental gradient and that the species-po...
Source: The Journal of Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Tags: J Parasitol Source Type: research