Seasonal changes in the parasite prevalence of a small Malagasy lemur species (Lepilemur edwardsi)

Abstract

Parasitic infections can impact the fitness of individuals and can have influence on animals' population dynamics. An individuals' parasite prevalence often changes depending on external or seasonal changes, for example, rainfall and ambient temperatures, but also on internal changes, for example, changes in body condition. In this study we aimed to identify the environmental factors that may influence the intestinal parasite and ectoparasite prevalence of the folivorous Malagasy primate species, Lepilemur edwardsi, living in a seasonal dry deciduous forest. Species living in this habitat have to adapt to seasonal changes of ambient temperature, with almost no precipitation during the dry season and hence strong fluctuations of resource availability throughout the year. We sampled the feces and ectoparasites of L. edwardsi throughout the year. Intestinal parasite prevalence increased from the wet to the dry season and was highest in the late dry season, which might be due to the accompanying decrease in diet quality. Conversely, ectoparasite prevalence decreased in the dry season, presumably due to the prevailing unfavorable environmental conditions for the development of ectoparasites (i.e., mites and ticks). Paired with the higher resting metabolism and stress level of L. edwardsi during the late dry season, it seems that this species may struggle when dry seasons intensify in its habitat.

Season and reproductive activity influence cortisol levels in the Malagasy primate Lepilemur edwardsi

“…Sportive lemurs inhabit almost all habitats in Madagascar and can survive even in the driest and harshest environments on this island, such as the extremely dry spiny forests in southern Madagascar and the seasonal deciduous dry forests in the West. However, individuals seem to be affected by the unfavorable conditions of the dry season, as previous studies show that L. edwardsi increases its resting metabolism to cope with these conditions and has a higher parasite prevalence towards the end of the dry season (Bethge et al, 2021(Bethge et al, , 2022.…”

Molecular identification and seasonal prevalence of Entamoeba in wild Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) from Mount Gongga, China

“…Observing the feeding behavior of the wild Tibetan macaques in the future may understand the effect of Euphorbiaceae or other plants on parasite infection. In addition, the study on lemur (Lepilemur edwardsi) in Madagascar found that the differences in prevalence rates of intestinal parasites between the wet and dry seasons might be due to the accompanying decrease in diet quality (Bethge et al, 2022). According to another research, wild rhesus macaques living in high-altitude consume more roots and fallen leaves during winter to respond the food scarcity (K. Zhang et al, 2022).…”

“…The prevalence of intestinal parasites is not only related to the health status of the host but also in uenced by climatic factors such as temperature, rainfall, and altitude (Turner et al, 2012;Sanchez et al, 2018;Yu et al, 2023). The climatic factors may further cause seasonal differences in the prevalence of parasites, which were reported in a previous study on the lemurs in Madagascar (Bethge et al, 2022), and the Tibetan macaques of Mount Emei in Sichuan, China (Yang et al, 2022). Tibetan macaques are endemic primates in China and are distributed in the central and southern regions of China (JIANG Xue-long, 1996).…”

Promise and limitations of 18S genetic screening of extracted fecal DNA from wild capuchins

“…However, this is somewhat inconsistent with a previous coprological study of parasites in the same population (Parr et al, 2013b), which found 7 helminth morphotypes in both the wet and dry seasons. The inconsistencies in the results of parasitological studies at the Santa Rosa field site are not unique as the primate parasitology literature is generally mixed on whether environmental conditions and seasonality strongly influence parasitic infections (e.g., Akinyi et al, 2019;de Winter et al, 2020;Blersch et al, 2021;Bueno de Mesquita et al, 2021;Bethge et al, 2022). However, conclusions are likely confounded by differences in study design, sampling, analyses, host-parasite relationships, and site-specific factors.…”