The helminth community of the wood mouseApodemus sylvaticusfrom the Erro River valley, Navarre, Spain

Abstract

The helminth fauna of the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, in the Erro River valley (Navarre, Spain) was investigated from a total of 150 mice between February 2001 and July 2002. An overall prevalence of 90.7% was recorded and up to 14 helminth species identified. The most prevalent species was the nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus (78.0%), whereas Syphacia stroma was the species with the highest median abundance (19.8). The detection of Calodium hepaticum, Rodentolepis straminea and the larvae of Hydatigera taeniaeformis are significant, since these helminth species could be considered potential human parasites. The helminth infracommunity comprised no more than five species. A significant predominance of monoxenous species was detected. Statistically significant differences were also found between prevalences, helminth abundance, species richness and helminth diversity of sub-populations of the wood mouse determined by host age and season of capture, which agree with most of the studies carried out on this host. This study will shed light on the helminth community of the wood mouse from a region of Spain which has not previously been documented.

First report on the helminthfauna of the yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis, in the Iberian Peninsula

“…The absence of trematodes with an aquatic life cycle is in accordance with the results of previous studies carried out in the Mediterranean mouse and the wood mouse in this ecosystem. However, in the yellow-necked mouse, as well as in the other two murid species analysed in this enclave, C. vitta, a trematode which uses land snails as its fi rst intermediate host (Sainz-Elipe et al, 2004;Debenedetti et al, 2015), was detected. This fact underlines the big similarities in the ecological habits of the yellow-necked mouse and the other murid species that share this habitat.…”

“…Furthermore, the detection of the capillariin C. hepaticum stands out, given that this helminth is the causative agent of the rare conditions of hepatic capillariosis and spurious infections in humans (Fuehrer et al, 2011). This parasite was also reported to parasitize other murids in this ecosystem, having been found as a co-dominant species of the helminth community of the Mediterranean mouse, Mus spretus, (Sainz-Elipe et al, 2004) and the wood mouse, A. sylvaticus, (Debenedetti et al, 2015). Consequently, the potential role of the yellow-necked mouse in the Erro river valley as a reservoir of helminth zoonoses, as already shown in other European regions and in the north of Turkey (Çelebi et al, 2014), should be confi rmed.…”

“…On the other hand, rodents have demonstrated to be a frequent reservoir of zoonoses, and this capacity has already been observed in some forest ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula. For example, in the Erro river valley, Navarre, other rodent species have been found to be parasitized by zoonotic helminths (Sainz-Elipe et al, 2004;Debenedetti et al, 2015), therefore, also necessitating the analysis of A. fl avicollis as a potential reservoir of human zoonoses.…”

Ecological Analysis of the Helminth Community of the Wood Mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, along an 18-Year Post-Fire Regeneration Period in a Mediterranean Ecosystem

“…These studies were mainly carried out in central and eastern Europe, Finland and the British Isles [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], as well as several Mediterranean insular enclaves [32][33][34]. In the Iberian Peninsula, relevant studies were carried out in: Albufera of València [35], Serra da Malcata, Portugal [36], Doñana National Park [37], Serra Calderona Natural Park (NP), Castelló-València [38], Sierra de Espuña, Murcia [39], Sierra de Gredos, Ávila [40], Dunas de Mira, Portugal [41], and the Erro river valley, Navarre [42].…”

Rodentolepis straminea(Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) in an urban population ofApodemus sylvaticusin the UK

“…Other hosts of R. straminea include Cricetus cricetus in Hungary (Tenora & Murai, 1970); Apodemus agrarius in Serbia and Slovakia (Ondrikova et al , 2010, Debenedetti et al , 2014); A. flavicollis in Slovakia (Ondrikova et al , 2010); A. sylvaticus in Spain (Fuentes et al , 2004); Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus in the islands of the southern Indian Ocean (Pisanu et al , 2001) and in Rhabdomys pumilia (four-striped grass mouse) and Mastomys natalensis (African soft-furred rat) in South Africa (Collins, 1972). Rodentolepis straminea has also been recorded from Mus spretus , R. rattus and A. sylvaticus in the Iberian penisula (Feliu et al , 1997).…”