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Effects of anthropogenic and demographic factors on patterns of parasitism in African small mammal communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2014

JOHANNA S. SALZER ,
DARIN S. CARROLL ,
AMANDA JO WILLIAMS-NEWKIRK ,
STEFANIE LANG ,
JULIAN KERBIS PETERHANS ,
INNOCENT B. RWEGO ,
SANDRA OCKERS  and
THOMAS R. GILLESPIE
JOHANNA S. SALZER
Affiliation:
Program in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, 1462 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
DARIN S. CARROLL
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
AMANDA JO WILLIAMS-NEWKIRK
Affiliation:
Program in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, 1462 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
STEFANIE LANG
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
JULIAN KERBIS PETERHANS
Affiliation:
College of Professional Studies, Roosevelt University, 430 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA
INNOCENT B. RWEGO
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Department of Biological Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
SANDRA OCKERS
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
THOMAS R. GILLESPIE*
Affiliation:
Program in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, 1462 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
*
* Corresponding author. Program in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, 1462 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA; Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA; and Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. E-mail: Thomas.Gillespie@emory.edu
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Summary

Habitat disturbance often results in alterations in community structure of small mammals. Additionally, the parasites harboured by these small mammals may be impacted by environmental changes or indirectly affected by changes in available hosts. To improve our understanding of this interplay, we examined the patterns of parasitism in small mammal communities from a variety of habitats in forested Uganda. Small mammals were collected from areas experiencing variable habitat disturbance, host density and species richness. The analysis focused on 3 most abundant rodent species, Lophuromys aquilus, Praomys jacksoni and Hylomyscus stella, and a diverse group of parasites they harbour. The impact of various habitat and host community factors on parasite prevalence was examined using linear regression and Spearman's rank-order correlation. We further investigated the parasite communities associated with each individual using correspondence analysis. We determined that, parasite prevalence and richness may be occasionally influenced by community and habitat factors, but taxonomy is a driving force in influencing the parasite community harboured by an individual host. Ultimately, applying general principles across a broad range of disturbance levels and diverse host communities needs to be approached with caution in complex communities.

Keywords

ectoparasitesfleasGiardiaKibale National ParklicemitesPraomysrodenttickstrypanosome
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 142 , Issue 3 , March 2015 , pp. 512 - 522
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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