Helminth Parasite Communities of the Water-rat, Hydromys chrysogaster, from Queensland

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 445 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. R. Smales ◽  
T. H. Cribb

The helminth fauna from 124 water-rats, Hydromys chrysogaster, collected from 33 localities in Queensland was analysed. A total of 45 species of helminths was found, comprising 2 acanthocephalans, 2 cestodes, 13 nematodes and 28 trematodes. The helminth community of the water-rats in the region north of latitude 18˚ (far north) was different from that of water-rats south of 18˚ (central); Sorensen’s Index 45·8% similarity, whereas Holmes and Podesta’s Index gave 32·1% similarity. Comparisons with data from water-rats from southern and Tasmanian regions showed that they were different from each other and from both Queensland regions. The helminth communities were characterised by high diversity, dominated by trematodes in the central and Tasmanian regions, but with nematodes becoming more prominent in the far northern and southern regions. No core or secondary species were found in the Queensland helminth communities, the southern community was suggestive of a bimodal distribution and the Tasmanian had two core species. A checklist of helminth species occurring in water-rats from eastern Australia is provided.

1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Beveridge ◽  
R Speare ◽  
PM Johnson ◽  
DM Spratt

Helminth parasites were examined from 4 Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, 18 Aepyprymnus rufescens, 13 Thylogale stigmatica, 13 Onychogalea unguifera, 2 0. fraenata, 8 Lagorchestes conspicillatus and 7 Dendrolagus lumholtzi from north and central Queensland. In all, 63 species of nematodes, ten species of cestodes and a single species of trematode were encountered. Helminth communities in H. moschatus and A. rufescens were characterised by few, highly specific parasites; D. lumholtzi similarly harboured few parasites; those of Onychogalea spp. and L. conspicillatus were more diverse and included a number of taxa shared with other macropodine hosts. The helminth community of T. stigmatica was extremely diverse and was dominated by helminths specific to Thylogale spp. The helminth communities of the various host genera showed little similarity to one another, even in the case of host species that were broadly sympatric. This lack of similarity is probably due to a mixture of factors, some related to host phylogeny and others ecological, particularly habitat type and feeding behaviour. The data presented illustrate a wider range of types of helminth communities in macropodoids than reported to date, and little evidence of exchange of parasites with rock-wallabies, Petrogale spp., examined from the same regions of Queensland.


2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.E. Griffith ◽  
I. Beveridge ◽  
N.B. Chilton ◽  
P.M. Johnson

AbstractGastrointestinal helminths were collected from pademelons of the genus Thylogale (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) in eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Examined were 12 Thylogale stigmatica stigmatica and 13 T. s. wilcoxi, the latter subdivided into eight specimens from the northern limit of their distribution and five from southern areas, all from eastern Queensland, Australia, one T. s. oriomo from Papua New Guinea and ten T. thetis from southeastern Queensland and northern New South Wales, Australia. Six species of cestodes and 40 species of nematodes were found. The helminth community of T. s. stigmatica was similar to that found in northern specimens of T. s. wilcoxi, while differences from the helminth community present in southern T. s. wilcoxi could be accounted for by parasites acquired from sympatric T. thetis. Thylogale thetis harboured a community of helminths distinct from but related to that in T. stigmatica. The evidence suggests that all subspecies of T. stigmatica examined share a common helminth community, but that in areas of sympatry, T. stigmatica and T. thetis share some of their parasites.


Parasitology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 135 (7) ◽  
pp. 751-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. BEHNKE

SUMMARYExperimental data establish that interactions exist between species of intestinal helminths during concurrent infections in rodents, the strongest effects being mediated through the host's immune responses. Detecting immune-mediated relationships in wild rodent populations has been fraught with problems and published data do not support a major role for interactions in structuring helminth communities. Helminths in wild rodents show predictable patterns of seasonal, host age-dependent and spatial variation in species richness and in abundance of core species. When these are controlled for, patterns of co-infection compatible with synergistic interactions can be demonstrated. At least one of these, the positive relationship betweenHeligmosomoides polygyrusand species richness of other helminths has been demonstrated in three totally independent data-sets. Collectively, they explain only a small percentage of the variance/deviance in abundance data and at this level are unlikely to play a major role in structuring helminth communities, although they may be important in the more heavily infected wood mice. Current worm burdens underestimate the possibility that earlier interactions through the immune system have taken place, and therefore interactions may have a greater role to play than is immediately evident from current worm burdens. Longitudinal studies are proposed to resolve this issue.


1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 473 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Beveridge ◽  
N. B. Chilton ◽  
P. M. Johnson ◽  
L. R. Smales ◽  
R. Speare ◽  
...  

The occurrence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites in 40 Macropus agilis, 12 M. antilopinus, 39 M. dorsalis, 28 M. giganteus, 29 M. parryi, 30 M. robustus and 26 Wallabia bicolor from north and central Queensland was examined. A total of 124 morphologically defined species of helminth was encountered, comprising 103 species of strongyloid nematodes, 6 species of trichostrongyloid nematodes, 2 species of spiruroid nematodes, 4 species of oxyuroid nematodes, 7 species of anoplocephalid cestodes and 2 species of digenetic trematodes. Helminth communities in each macropodid host species exhibited a high level of diversity, and were dominated numerically by strongyloid nematodes. A high proportion of the helminth species was restricted to a single host species and there was a low level of similarity between helminth communities in different host species. Similarities that did occur were not apparently related to the phylogenetic relationships between hosts and are best explained by host switching between hosts sharing overlapping habitats and feeding preferences. There was poor separation of the helminth species into ‘core’, ‘secondary’ and ‘satellite’ members of communities.


Parasitology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. BEHNKE ◽  
P. D. HARRIS ◽  
A. BAJER ◽  
C. J. BARNARD ◽  
N. SHERIF ◽  
...  

We compared helminth communities in spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) from 4 wadis in the arid montane region of the southern Sinai in Egypt, in a 4-week period in late summer. Total helminth species richness was 14 (8 nematodes, 5 cestodes and 1 acanthocephalan) with 94% of mice carrying at least 1 species and an overall mean species richness of 1·85. The most prevalent parasites wereProtospirura muricola(47·8%) andDentostomella kuntzi(46·3%). One larval cestode,Joyeuxiella rossicum, represents a new host record. The helminth community was dominated by intestinal nematodes (88·7%) of which 58·2% were arthropod-transmitted heteroxenic species. At the component community level, 70% of the worms were recovered from mice in just two wadis (Gharaba and Tlah) and 48·6% of intestinal nematodes were from Wadi Gharaba. Although only 7 species of helminths were recorded from Wadi Gharaba, this site gave the highest Berger-Parker dominance index because ofP. muricola. P. muricolawas also dominant in Wadi El Arbaein whilstSyphacia minutawas the dominant species in Wadis Gebal and Tlah. At the infracommunity level, mean species richness and Brillouin's index of diversity were highest in Wadi Tlah and lowest in Wadi Gebal, and the former was age dependent. Whilst mice from different wadis differed in the nematodes that were most common, those from Wadi Gharaba carried the highest mean number of worms/mouse. The abundance ofP. muricolain particular varied markedly between sites: Wadi Gharaba was distinct as the site showing the highest mean worm burden whereas mice from Wadi Gebal were uninfected. None of the directly transmitted oxyuroid nematodes showed significant variation in abundance between wadis, or host sex or age classes. Overall, the single extrinsic factor in the study, site of capture, was more important than the intrinsic factors in explaining variation in helminth communities in the region. We conclude that in the high mountains of southern Sinai, each wadi is distinct in terms of its rodent parasites, and hence we expect spatially different coevolutionary pressures on their hosts, with resultant variation in life-histories.


Parasitology ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Kennedy

SummaryThe prediction that species richness and diversity of intestinal helminth communities in eels would change over time in response to habitat changes was tested over a period of 13 years in a small stream subjected to extensive human management. Nearly all measures of helminth community structure adopted indicated a decline in richness and diversity over the first 6 years followed by a recovery over the last few years to levels unexpectedly close to those at the start of the investigation. Changes in total number of species suggested that the component community was far richer (from 3–9 species) at the end of the period. By contrast, changes in diversity and dominance measures revealed less variation than expected and suggested that there was an underlying stability of community structure characterized by high dominance by a single species, although the identity of this changed, low diversity and a large proportion of the eel population harbouring 0 or only 1 species. A similar pattern of changes was recorded in the infra-communities, where values of species richness and diversity were very similar at the commencement and termination of the study. It appeared that those helminths that colonized in the recovery period contributed to community richness but had little impact on community structure. The helminth communities clearly did change in response to habitat changes, and the evidence for a fixed number of niches and an underlying constancy in helminth community structure in eels is evaluated.


2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Roca ◽  
F. Jorge ◽  
Ç. Ilgaz ◽  
Y. Kumlutaş ◽  
S.H. Durmuş ◽  
...  

AbstractPopulations of the lizard Darevskia rudis (Bedriaga, 1886) from northern Anatolia were examined for intestinal parasites in adult specimens. One cestode, Nematotaenia tarentolae López-Neyra, 1944 and four nematode species, Spauligodon saxicolae Sharpilo, 1962, Skrjabinelazia hoffmanni Li, 1934, Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Goeze, 1782) and Strongyloides darevskyi Sharpilo, 1976, were found. Three of these nematodes, S. saxicolae, S. hoffmanni and S. darevskyi are suggested to be part of a module in the network of Darevskia spp. and their parasites. Only one, S. darevskyi, was identified as a Darevskia spp. specialist. The very low infection and diversity parameters are indicative of the depauperate helminth communities found in this lacertid lizard, falling among the lowest within the Palaearctic saurians. Nevertheless these values are higher than those found in parthenogenetic Darevskia spp. Interpopulation variation in the intensity of S. saxicolae and N. tarentolae is attributable to local changes in ecological conditions. On the other hand, parasite abundance and richness increased in the warmer localities, while the effect of lizard sex and size on infection was negligible. The structure of these helminth communities in D. rudis are compared with those observed in other European lacertid lizards.


1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert O. Bush ◽  
John C. Holmes

This paper examines patterns in the linear distribution of helminths in the small intestine of each of 45 scaup. Over all birds, most common species of helminths were found in over half of the small intestine; their distributions overlapped broadly. In individual birds, each species occupied a more restricted, predictable part of the intestine; "core species" (those present in more than two-thirds of the birds) were more evenly distributed along the intestine than expected by chance and occupied almost all of it; "secondary species" (those in one- to two-thirds of the birds) were clumped in anterior and posterior portions of the intestine; and "satellite species" (those in less than one-third of the birds) were randomly distributed. For all common helminths, the range occupied in individual birds was significantly correlated with population size; however, overlap between adjacent species did not increase with increases in their total numbers. The intestinal helminths of scaup belonged to three guilds: small absorbers (paramucosal), large absorbers (mid-lumenal), and trematodes. The interactions noted above occurred both within and between guilds. The overall helminth community in scaup appeared to be saturated with species belonging to the two absorber guilds, but not with trematodes. Communities within individual scaup sampled this overall community and were often unsaturated. We conclude that the core and secondary species of absorbers provide a basic, interactive structure to the overall community and to most of the communities in individual birds. Trematodes and satellite absorber species provide stochastic elaborations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 504
Author(s):  
Jesús Montoya-Mendoza ◽  
Sandra Edith Badillo-López ◽  
Isabel Araceli Amaro-Espejo ◽  
María del Refugio Castañeda-Chávez ◽  
Fabiola Lango-Reynoso ◽  
...  

Scorpaena brasiliensis and S. plumieri are relevant fish species in reef systems, but little is known about their parasitic helminth communities and their structure. This paper describes such community in terms of species richness and diversity. A helminthological study was conducted on 33 specimens of S. brasiliensis and 36 S. plumieri, captured in the Pajaros and Cabezo Reefs, in the Veracruz Reef System National Park (VRSNP), Veracruz, Mexico. The helminth community structure was analyzed in both host species. A total of 10 parasitic species was registered in S. brasiliensis (5 digeneans, 1 cestode, 3 nematodes, 1 acanthocephalan), while S. plumieri hosted 11 species (4 digeneans, 1 monogenean, 1 cestode, 4 nematodes, 1 acanthocephalan), with 8 common species. The species with the highest prevalence were Pseudocapillaria (Icthyocapillaria) sp., with 18.2% and 19.4% in S. brasiliensis and S. plumieri, respectively. Component community richness for S. brasiliensis was S = 10, with Shannon index diversity value of H’ = 2.08. For S. plumieri, such values were of S = 11 and H’ = 1.91. Richness and diversity in the component and infracommunity levels for both hosts are lower than in other parasite communities of marine fishes in the southern Gulf of Mexico.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-352
Author(s):  
M. Chunchukova ◽  
D. Kirin ◽  
D. Kuzmanova

The present study presents the results from examinations of bleak’s endohelminth species and structure of helminth communities from the Bulgarian part of the Lower Danube River. In 2015 and 2016, on a seasonal manner, 91 specimens of Alburnus alburnus (Linnaeus, 1758) (bleak) were examined with standard techniques for parasites. Five species of parasites: Nicolla skrjabini (Ivanitzky, 1928), Ligula intestinalis (Linnaeus, 1758), Acanthocephalus lucii (Müller, 1776), Pomphorhynchus laevis (Müller, 1776) and Contracoecum microcephalum (Stossich, 1890), larvae were identified. The analysis of the dominant structure of the found parasite species is presented to the component and infracommunities levels. All parasite species were accidental for the parasitic communities of examined fish with the exception of P. laevis and N. skrjabini. P. laevis was a core parasite species and N. skrjabini was a component parasite species for the helminth communities of bleak. The parasite communities of A. alburnus were discussed and compared with previous research data on parasite communities of bleak from River Danube in Bulgaria. New data for helminths and helminth communities of A. alburnus from Danube River (biotope Vetren) and their seasonal occurrence are presented.


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