Chagas disease is one of the most important yet neglected parasitic diseases in Mexico and is transmitted by Triatominae. Nineteen of the 31 Mexican triatomine species have been consistently found to invade human houses and all have been found to be naturally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. The present paper aims to produce a state-of-knowledge atlas of Mexican triatomines and analyse their geographic associations with T. cruzi, human demographics and landscape modification. Ecological niche models (ENMs) were constructed for the 19 species with more than 10 records in North America, as well as for T. cruzi. The 2010 Mexican national census and the 2007 National Forestry Inventory were used to analyse overlap patterns with ENMs. Niche breadth was greatest in species from the semiarid Nearctic Region, whereas species richness was associated with topographic heterogeneity in the Neotropical Region, particularly along the Pacific Coast. Three species, Triatoma longipennis, Triatoma mexicana and Triatoma barberi, overlapped with the greatest numbers of human communities, but these communities had the lowest rural/urban population ratios. Triatomine vectors have urbanised in most regions, demonstrating a high tolerance to human-modified habitats and broadened historical ranges, exposing more than 88% of the Mexican population and leaving few areas in Mexico without the potential for T. cruzi transmission.

The population genetics of Triatoma dimidiata haplogroups was analyzed at landscape and sub-regional scales in Chiapas and regional level across the Mexican Neotropics, and phylogeography of the complex was re-analyzed across its complete geographic range. Two contiguous fragments of the ND4 gene were analyzed due to bias from differential haplogroup specificity using a previously designed sequence. At both landscape (anthropic modification gradient) and regional (demographic, fragmentation, biogeographic, climate) scales, lowest T. dimidiata genetic diversity occurs where there is greatest historical anthropic modification, and where T. cruzi infection prevalence is significantly highest. Trypanosoma cruzi prevalence was significantly higher than expected in haplogroups 1 and 3, while lower than expected in haplogroup 2. There was also a significant difference of DTUI and DTUVI infection frequencies in both haplogroups 1 and 3, while no difference of either in haplogroup 2. All haplogroups from the Mexican Neotropics had moderate to high haplotype diversity, while greatest genetic differentiation was between haplogroups 1 and 3 (above FST = 0.868, p < 0.0001). Divergence of the complex from the MRCA was estimated between 0.97 MYA (95% HPD interval = 0.55–1.53 MYA) and 0.85 MYA (95% HPD interval = 0.42–1.5 MYA) for ND4A and both concatenated fragments, respectively, with primary divergence from the MRCA of haplogroups 2 and 3. Effective population size for Mexican haplogroups 1 and 2 increased between 0.02 and 0.03 MYA. This study supports previous ecological niche evidence for the complex´s origin surrounding the Tehuantepec Isthmus, and provides evidence for recent divergence of three primary dimidiata haplogroups, with differential T. cruzi infection frequency and DTU specificity, important components of vector capacity.

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal‐central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation‐related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data.

The brocket deer (Mazama temama and M. pandora) are two of the Mexican tropical deer with great importance for subsistence and sport hunters. Brocket deer are considered species with preference for pristine habitats conserved, however at the landscape level, factors such as hunting pressure could influence the presence and abundance of these species. Campeche, is the only Mexican state where it has been authorized the exploitation of the brocket deer for sport hunting. This hunting pressure along with the intense subsistence hunting that occurs in Campeche, could have important effects on the conservation of the species. Establishing what factors determine the presence of the species at the landscape level is essential to elaborate comprehensive management plans of these species to allow their long-term conservation. The aim of this study was to determine the habitat variables at the landscape level that influence the brocket deer presence in the central-western area of Campeche State in Mexico. The study area in the state of Campeche (19° 15' N, -91º 20´ W) was divided into six study regions (Chekubul-Cristalina; Chenkan; Chicbul-Km 74; Pixtún-Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Miguel Colorado; Centenario-La Rigueña) following the main paved road of the area and according to the conservation level of the natural ecosystems, presence of flooded areas, and intensity of the human activities where we determine the presence of brocket deer. We searched for brocket deer tracks along 263 transects of 500 m each. The tracks were identified to genus only. The presence/absence of brocket deer in the transects was combined with variables of human and natural origin of the study area in a geographical information system. We use principal component analysis and a logistic regression to determine the relationship between variables and the presence/absence of the brocket deer. We were not able to distinguish by their tracks the two potentially distributed species of brocket deer in the area. Due to this constraint, we did not perform a distinction between both species and all the observed tracks were classified as brocket deer. We found that brocket deer were present only in three of the six studied regions: Miguel Colorado (21.3 % transect had brocket deer presence), Centenario-La Rigueña (20.4 %) and Chenkan (1.7 %). The principal component analysis indicated that the variables determining the presence of brocket deer were, the percentage of preserved forest and distance to pastures, positively associated, while livestock density was negative. The best model obtained by the logistic regression showed that the presence of brocket deer increased when the percentage of preserved forests around transect is increased, while decreasing with increasing livestock density. The presence of conserved forests favors the presence of brocket deer in the study area, while a higher density of cattle decreases the probability of detection. The few records of brocket deer in flooded zones in this study and the lack of detection of the species in previo...

Objective. To provide primary evidence of Trypanosoma cruzi landscape genetics in the Mexican Neotropics. Materials and methods. Trypanosoma cruzi and discrete typing units (DTU) prevalence were analyzed in landscape communities of vectors, wildlife, livestock, pets, and sympatric human populations using endpoint PCR and sequencing of all relevant amplicons from mitochondrial (kDNA) and nuclear (ME, 18S, 24Sα) gene markers. Results. Although 98% of the infected sample-set (N=2 963) contained single or mixed infections of DTUI (TcI, 96.2%) and TcVI (22.6%), TcIV and TcII were also identified. Sensitivity of individual markers varied and was dependent on host taxon; kDNA, ME and 18S combined identified 95% of infections. ME genotyped 90% of vector infections, but 60% of mammals (36% wildlife), while neither 18S nor 24Sα typed more than 20% of mammal infections. Conclusion. Available gene fragments to identify or genotype T. cruzi are not universally sensitive for all landscape parasite populations, highlighting important T. cruzi heteroge- neity among mammal reservoir taxa and triatomine species.