The influence of habitat fragmentation on helminth communities in rodent populations from a Brazilian Mountain Atlantic Forest

2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 460-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.S. Cardoso ◽  
R.O. Simões ◽  
J.L.F. Luque ◽  
A. Maldonado ◽  
R. Gentile

AbstractThe influence of habitat structure on helminth communities of three sigomdontinae rodent species (Akodon cursor, A. montensisandOligoryzomys nigripes) was investigated in forest fragments within an agricultural landscape in south-eastern Brazil. This is a pionner study correlating the occurrence of helminth species of rodent hosts with microhabitat characteristics. Rodents were collected from 12 fragments and in a continuous conserved area. Up to 13 nematode, three cestode and two trematode species were identified, and habitat fragmentation was found to have more influence on the helminth composition ofO. nigripescompared to the other two rodent species. Fragmentation appeared to limit the development of some helminths’ life cycles, e.g. with some species such asTrichofreitasia lenti, Protospirura numidica, Cysticercus fasciolarisandAvellariasp., occurring mostly in areas with less anthropic impact. However, fragmentation did not seem to affect the life cycles of other dominant helminths, such as the trematodeCanaania obesa,the nematodesStilestrongylus lanfrediae,S. etaandS. aculeata,and the cestodeRodentolepis akodontis.The helminth community structure followed a nested pattern of distribution inA. montensisandO. nigripes.Stilestrongylus lanfrediaeseemed to be more associated with dense understorey,C. obesawith open canopy and dense understorey, andGuerrerostrongylus zettawith organic matter on the ground. Their presence in each area may be explained by aspects of their life cycles that take place in the external environment outside the host.

Parasite ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Camila Pantoja ◽  
Anna Faltýnková ◽  
Katie O’Dwyer ◽  
Damien Jouet ◽  
Karl Skírnisson ◽  
...  

The biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems globally still leaves much to be discovered, not least in the trematode parasite fauna they support. Echinostome trematode parasites have complex, multiple-host life-cycles, often involving migratory bird definitive hosts, thus leading to widespread distributions. Here, we examined the echinostome diversity in freshwater ecosystems at high latitude locations in Iceland, Finland, Ireland and Alaska (USA). We report 14 echinostome species identified morphologically and molecularly from analyses of nad1 and 28S rDNA sequence data. We found echinostomes parasitising snails of 11 species from the families Lymnaeidae, Planorbidae, Physidae and Valvatidae. The number of echinostome species in different hosts did not vary greatly and ranged from one to three species. Of these 14 trematode species, we discovered four species (Echinoparyphium sp. 1, Echinoparyphium sp. 2, Neopetasiger sp. 5, and Echinostomatidae gen. sp.) as novel in Europe; we provide descriptions for the newly recorded species and those not previously associated with DNA sequences. Two species from Iceland (Neopetasiger islandicus and Echinoparyphium sp. 2) were recorded in both Iceland and North America. All species found in Ireland are new records for this country. Via an integrative taxonomic approach taken, both morphological and molecular data are provided for comparison with future studies to elucidate many of the unknown parasite life cycles and transmission routes. Our reports of species distributions spanning Europe and North America highlight the need for parasite biodiversity assessments across large geographical areas.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamille de Assis Bomfim ◽  
Roberta Mariano Silva ◽  
Virgínia de Fernandes Souza ◽  
Edyla Ribeiro de Andrade ◽  
Eliana Cazetta

Abstract:To investigate the influence of forests and agroforestry systems on fruit consumption by birds, we studied two landscapes, one covered predominantly with forests and the other dominated by traditional shade cocoa plantations. In each landscape, we sampled three forest fragments and three shade cocoa plantations. We placed 15 artificial fruits in 25, 1–2-m-tall shrubs spaced every 50 m and evaluated the detection and consumption of fruits after 72 h. We used hemispherical photographs positioned above each fruit station to evaluate canopy openness. We found a statistically significant difference in fruit consumption between landscapes, which means that more fruits were detected and consumed in the forest-dominated landscape. However, forests and shade cocoa plantations within each landscape exhibited similar fruit consumption. Canopy openness was similar between the landscapes, however, the cocoa plantations exhibited greater canopy openness than forests. The results of this study reinforce the importance of the presence of forests in the agricultural landscape. Thus, to evaluate the capacity of agroforest to protect species and maintain ecological interactions it is also necessary to consider the landscape context.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 635-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Jacquemyn ◽  
Jan Butaye ◽  
Myriam Dumortier ◽  
Martin Hermy ◽  
Noël Lust

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helio Secco ◽  
Clara Grilo ◽  
Alex Bager

Abstract:There are several primate species with high risk of extinction in small forest fragments disturbed by human activities. However, some species exhibit high ecological plasticity, which allows them to persist in human-modified landscapes. The main goal of this study is to examine the relative roles of vegetation (mean distance among trees and mean canopy cover), human disturbance (distance to the road, distance to the fragment edge and edge type), and habitat spatial configuration (spatial autocorrelation index, category of quadrat – position within the fragment/fragment type) on the habitat selection of the black-tufted marmoset Callithrix penicillata in forest patches. We selected forest patches near and away from roads/urban areas, in southern Minas Gerais state, south-eastern Brazil. We used generalized linear mixed models to explain the presence of black-tufted marmoset in those patches. Our results show that black-tufted marmoset tend to occupy forest fragments closer to roads/urban areas, and consequently are under the influence of anthropic disturbance. In addition to the area delimited by these fragments, there is a preference for edge environments, where disturbances are exacerbated and the ecological conditions are suitable for exploitation by the black-tufted marmoset (supply of gum trees and reduced risk of competition). We suggest that a cross-habitat spillover by marmoset occur from forests to small habitat patches close to human-modified areas, such as those in proximity to roads and urban zones.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Morgan ◽  
Nigel A. Binks ◽  
Raphael K. Didham ◽  
Andrew D. Barnes

AbstractAimMounting global pressure on bird populations from invasive predators and habitat loss has driven a rapid growth in restorative and protective conservation action around the world, yet the efficacy of such actions is still not well understood. We investigated the relative effects of invasive predator control and habitat fragmentation on the abundance of native birds and invasive mammalian predators in native forest fragments.LocationWaikato region, New ZealandMethodsWe sampled invasive mammalian predator and native bird abundances using camera traps and bird counts at 26 sites in 15 forest fragments across New Zealand’s Waikato region. Fragment area, shape complexity, and surrounding land cover of exotic and native forest were determined in ArcMap. We further created two composite gradients reflecting predator control intensity and temporal distribution of control based on seven quantitative variables recorded in each of the five years preceding native bird data collection. Finally, we estimated the relative influence of these drivers on invasive mammals and functional groups of native birds using model averaging.ResultsOf the two invasive predator control variables, only control intensity significantly affected invasive predator abundance and was also a more important driver than landscape or fragment structure, but responses varied among invasive mammal species. In contrast, both invasive predator control intensity and fragment structure were similarly important drivers of native bird abundance, though bird community responses varied markedly between functional groups.Main conclusionsOur findings suggest that spatial extent of invasive mammal control is important for controlling mammal numbers and enhancing bird abundance, especially for small insectivorous species, and that habitat fragmentation is less important for invasive mammals but at least as important for native bird communities. Consequently, both drivers should be given strong consideration when undertaking landscape-scale conservation and restoration of bird communities in human-altered landscapes threatened by invasive predators.


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Zhytova ◽  
L. D. Romanchuk ◽  
S. V. Guralska ◽  
O. Yu. Andreieva ◽  
M. V. Shvets

Abstract This is the first review of life cycles of trematodes with parthenitae and larvae in freshwater gastropods from forest biocoenoses of Ukrainian Polissia. Altogether 26 trematode species from 14 families were found circulating in 13 ways in molluscs from reservoirs connected with forest ecosystems of the region. Three-host life cycle is typical of 18 trematode species, two-host life cycle has found in 7 species, and four-host cycles has found in one species. Alaria alata Goeze, 1782, has three-host (Shults, 1972) and four-host cycles. Opisthioglyphe ranae (Froehlich, 1791) can change three-host life cycle to two-host cycle replacing the second intermediate host (Niewiadomska et al., 2006) with the definitive host. Species with primary two-host life cycle belong to Notocotylidae Lühe, 1909, Paramphistomidae Fischoeder, 1901 and Fasciolidae Railliet, 1758 families. Trematodes with three-host cycle have variable second intermediate hosts, including invertebrates and aquatic or amphibious vertebrates. Definitive hosts of trematodes are always vertebrates from different taxonomic groups. The greatest diversity of life cycles is typical for trematodes of birds. Trematodes in the forest biocoenoses of Ukrainian Polissia infect birds in six ways, mammals in three, amphibians in four, and reptiles in one way. The following species have epizootic significance: Liorchis scotiae (Willmott, 1950); Parafasciolopsis fasciolaemorpha Ejsmont, 1932; Notocotylus seineti Fuhrmann, 1919; Catatropis verrucosa (Frölich, 1789) Odhner, 1905; Cotylurus cornutus (Rudolphi, 1808); Echinostoma revolutum (Fröhlich, 1802) Dietz, 1909; Echinoparyphium aconiatum Dietz, 1909; Echinoparyphium recurvatum (Linstow, 1873); Hypoderaeum conoideum (Bloch, 1782) Dietz, 1909; Paracoenogonimus ovatus Kasturada, 1914; Alaria alata Goeze, 1782.


The Auk ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin M. Bayne ◽  
Keith A. Hobson

AbstractBetween 1996 and 1998, we compared pairing success of territorial male Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus) in forest fragments created by forestry (n = 3) and agriculture (n = 10) to contiguous forest plots (n = 3) in the southern boreal mixedwood forest of central Saskatchewan. The percentage of Ovenbird males paired per site was lower in fragments created by agriculture (86 ± 3%) and forestry (87 ± 3%) than in contiguous forest (97 ± 3%). At the individual level, second-year males (82%) were less likely to be paired than after-second-year males (94%), whereas males closer to edges were less likely to be paired than those in forest interiors. Although pairing success differed among landscapes, those differences were smaller than reported in studies conducted in eastern North America. The high density of birds in our study area may have resulted in intense intraspecific competition, which could have prevented unpaired individuals from maintaining territories. Removal experiments in 1997 and 1998 demonstrated floaters occurred in contiguous forest, but rarely occurred in fragments created by agriculture. The presence of floaters in contiguous forest suggests the ratio of breeding to nonbreeding males in forest fragments and contiguous forest may be similar, but that the strategy (i.e. floater vs. territorial) used by unpaired birds may differ among landscapes.


2022 ◽  
Vol 326 ◽  
pp. 107752
Author(s):  
Matthew G.E. Mitchell ◽  
Emery Hartley ◽  
Matt Tsuruda ◽  
Andrew Gonzalez ◽  
Elena M. Bennett

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