<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Climatic and ecological factors can influence the parasite load of a host. Variation in rainfall, body size, and sex of the hosts may be related to the abundance of parasites. This study investigated the helminth fauna associated with a population of <italic>Norops brasiliensis</italic>, together with the effect of host biology (sex, body size, and mass) and variation in rainfall regime on the abundance of helminths. Species of three groups of endoparasites were found (Nematoda, Cestoda, and Trematoda), with nematodes as the most representative taxa with eight species, prevalence of 63.2 %, mean intensity of 4.0 ± 0.58 (1 – 25), and mean abundance of 2.66 ± 0.44 (0 – 25). Nine helminth species are new host records for <italic>N</italic>. <italic>brasiliensis</italic>. The nematode <italic>Rhabdias</italic> sp. had the highest prevalence (53.3 %). There was no significant relationship between abundance of the trematode <italic>Mesocoelium monas</italic> and host sex or season, although the abundance of this parasite increased significantly with host body size and mass, while abundance of nematodes was related to season and host mass. This study increases the knowledge about the diversity of helminth fauna associated with <italic>N. brasiliensis</italic>, revealing infection levels of hosts from northeastern Brazil.</p></abstract>

Climatic and ecological factors can influence the parasite load of a host. Variation in rainfall, body size, and sex of the hosts may be related to the abundance of parasites. This study investigated the helminth fauna associated with a population of Norops brasiliensis, together with the effect of host biology (sex, body size, and mass) and variation in rainfall regime on the abundance of helminths. Species of three groups of endoparasites were found (Nematoda, Cestoda, and Trematoda), with nematodes as the most representative taxa with eight species, prevalence of 63.2 %, mean intensity of 4.0 ± 0.58 (1 – 25), and mean abundance of 2.66 ± 0.44 (0 – 25). Nine helminth species are new host records for N. brasiliensis. The nematode Rhabdias sp. had the highest prevalence (53.3 %). There was no significant relationship between abundance of the trematode Mesocoelium monas and host sex or season, although the abundance of this parasite increased significantly with host body size and mass, while abundance of nematodes was related to season and host mass. This study increases the knowledge about the diversity of helminth fauna associated with N. brasiliensis, revealing infection levels of hosts from northeastern Brazil.

Infection patterns of helminths in <italic>Norops brasiliensis</italic> (Squamata, Dactyloidae) from a humid forest, Northeastern Brazil and their relation with body mass, sex, host size, and season

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais

Helminthologia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Infection patterns of helminths in  (Squamata, Dactyloidae) from a humid forest, Northeastern Brazil and their relation with body mass, sex, host size, and season

Climatic and ecological factors can influence the parasite load of a host. Variation in rainfall, body size, and sex of the hosts may be related to the...

Infection patterns of helminths in Norops brasiliensis (Squamata, Dactyloidae) from a humid forest, Northeastern Brazil and their relation with body mass, sex, host size, and season

Published Online: May 04, 2019

Page range: 168 - 174

Received: Oct 26, 2018

Accepted: Mar 05, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2019-0011

Keywords
Parasite abundance, Nematoda, Cestoda, Trematoda, Lizards, South America

© 2019 D. M. Amorim et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Infection patterns of helminths in Norops brasiliensis (Squamata, Dactyloidae) from a humid forest, Northeastern Brazil and their relation with body mass, sex, host size, and season

Published Online: May 04, 2019

Page range: 168 - 174

Received: Oct 26, 2018

Accepted: Mar 05, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2019-0011

KeywordsParasite abundance, Nematoda, Cestoda, Trematoda, Lizards, South America

© 2019 D. M. Amorim et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Parasite abundance, Nematoda, Cestoda, Trematoda, Lizards, South America