Gleasonian structure in the helminth metacommunity of the opossumDidelphis albiventrisin two extremes of the Atlantic Forest

Abstract

Didelphis albiventris is the opossum with the largest geographic distribution in Brazil and has a wide spectrum of helminth parasites. This study aimed to describe the species composition and analyse the structure of helminth communities of D. albiventris in two extremes of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. The influence of host sex, body mass, age, helminth species richness and locality on the abundance and prevalence of the most prevalent helminth species was investigated. Ninety-five per cent of the animals were infected with at least one species. Nine helminth species were found: the nematodes Aspidodera raillieti, Cruzia tentaculata, Trichuris didelphis and Trichuris minuta in the large intestine; Turgida turgida in the stomach; Travassostrongylus orloffi and Viannaia hamata; and the trematodes Brachylaima advena and Rhopalias coronatus in the small intestine. Three helminth morphospecies were also recovered: the nematodes Hoineffia sp. and Viannaia sp. and a cestode in the small intestine. Cruzia tentaculata and V. hamata were the species with the highest mean abundances and intensities, while the most prevalent species were A. raillieti, C. tentaculata, T. turgida and V. hamata, forming the central nucleus of the helminth component community. The analysis of the helminth metacommunity structure indicated a Gleasonian pattern for the total set of infracommunities, corroborating the beta diversity indices, which indicated more species replacement than loss between localities and infracommunities, although at a low level. The results indicated a stronger influence of host attributes than geographical distance on the community structure.

Helminths of sigmodontine rodents in an agroforestry mosaic in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Patterns and processes of the metacommunity structure

“…In Brazil, recent studies on helminth metacommunities of wild rodents have been conducted in the Atlantic Forest ( Boullosa et al, 2020 ; Cardoso et al, 2018 ) and in the Cerrado ( Costa et al, 2019 ) using EMS analysis. The mechanistic approach was used in a helminth metacommunity of small mammals in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest ( Cardoso et al, 2020 ); helminths of marsupials were also studied using the pattern-based approach in Brazil ( Cirino et al, 2022 ; Costa-Neto et al, 2019 ). In addition, several studies on helminth metacommunities have been developed in different regions of the world, seeking to understand the patterns and processes of community structure in different hosts.…”

Helminth community structure of the white-bellied woolly mouse opossum Marmosa constantiae Thomas, 1904 in Central-West Brazil

“…Costa et al (2022) recorded a quasi-Clementsian pattern – analogous to the Clementsian pattern – for helminths of sigmodontine rodents in an agroforestry mosaic in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. For Brazilian marsupials, there are only two studies of helminth metacommunity structure, and both are for the genus Didelphis (Cirino et al 2022; Costa-Neto et al 2019). Cirino et al (2022) recorded a Gleasonian pattern for helminths of Didelphis albiventris in two extremes of the Atlantic Forest.…”

“…For Brazilian marsupials, there are only two studies of helminth metacommunity structure, and both are for the genus Didelphis (Cirino et al 2022; Costa-Neto et al 2019). Cirino et al (2022) recorded a Gleasonian pattern for helminths of Didelphis albiventris in two extremes of the Atlantic Forest. Although Gleasonian and Clementsian patterns present distinct characteristics regarding the processes that promote such distributions, both are characterized by a greater species replacement than species loss along an environmental gradient.…”

First study of the helminth community structure of Marmosa constantiae (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) in an ecotone area between Cerrado and Amazonia, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

“…Studies of the helminth fauna or helminth community structure of small didelphids are scarce. Most of them were carried out for large marsupials, such as Didelphis marsupialis (Freitas et al 2022), Didelphis aurita (Costa-Neto et al 2019), Didelphis albiventris (Cirino et al 2022), Metachirus myosurus (Cirino et al 2020) and Philander opossum (Ramírez-Cañas et al 2019). For the genus Marmosa, there is only one study comparing the helminth structure of two sympatric species of this genus (M. demerarae and M. murina) in French Guiana (Byles et al 2013).…”