Metazoan Endoparasites of the Gecko Phyllopezus periosus (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) Inhabiting the Rock Cliffs of a Waterfall Canyon in the Semi-Arid Region from Northeastern Brazil.

Autor: Gonçalves-Sousa JG; Laboratório de Biologia e Ecologia de Animais Silvestres, Instituto de Formação de Educadores, Universidade Federal do Cariri, Brejo Santo, Ceará, Brazil. sousajgg@gmail.com., de Sousa Silva C; Laboratório de Ecologia Parasitária (LABEP), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Crato, Ceará, Brazil.; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sistemática, Uso e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fotaleza, Ceará, Brazil., Ribeiro SC; Laboratório de Biologia e Ecologia de Animais Silvestres, Instituto de Formação de Educadores, Universidade Federal do Cariri, Brejo Santo, Ceará, Brazil.; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Diversidade Biológica e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Crato, Ceará, Brazil., Oliveira HF; Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus Pici, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil., Ávila RW; Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus Pici, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Acta parasitologica [Acta Parasitol] 2024 Sep; Vol. 69 (3), pp. 1587-1591. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 20.
DOI: 10.1007/s11686-024-00868-1
Abstrakt: Purpose: This study describes the composition and infection patterns of macro endoparasites associated with the lizard Phyllopezus periosus.
Methods: We collected 115 P. periosus over 12 expeditions on the rocky cliffs of the Missão Velha waterfall canyon in northeastern Brazil. Specimens were collected by hand, during active searches conducted between 18:00 h and 23:30 h. The infection patterns were estimated using prevalence, total abundance, and mean intensity of infection for all parasites found.
Results: A total of 4256 parasites were collected from 104 hosts, resulting in an exceptionally high overall prevalence of 90.4%. No significant ontogenetic difference in the prevalence of infection was detected. Although juveniles exhibited a high parasite prevalence their parasite loads were significantly lower compared to adults. Six species of endoparasites were found; among these, the nematode Spauligodon oxkutzcabiensis was the most common endoparasite in the digestive tract, while the pentastomid Raillietiella mottae was the only species found in the respiratory tract.
Conclusions: Infection rates in Gekkota species appear to correlate with body size, with larger individuals generally exhibiting a higher prevalence. This pattern was also observed across separate populations of P. periosus and other geckos from distinct ecological domains. The dominance of the monoxenous S. oxkutzcabiensis highlights potential transmission mechanisms, suggesting that behaviors such as limb licking after feeding may contribute to its prevalence. The occurrence of Physalopteroides venancioi, Oswaldocruzia sp., Parapharyngodon sp., Physaloptera sp., infecting P. periosus are new records for this host. These findings significantly contribute to the knowledge of host-parasite dynamics in geckos.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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