The helminth community of the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, in the Sierra Espuña, Murcia, Spain

Abstract

The helminth community of the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, in the Sierra Espuna was characterized after a complete analysis of its helminth community component and infracommunity structure relative to host age, sex and year of capture. The helminth community comprised 13 species: one trematode, four cestodes and eight nematodes. The cestode Pseudocatenotaenia matovi and the nematode Syphacia frederici were the most prevalent and abundant helminth species, respectively. Sixty four percent of mice analysed presented helminths with a direct cycle and 42% presented helminths with an indirect cycle. The helminth community presents a low diversity with infracommunities usually made up of only one or two helminth species. Host age and year of capture seem to play a major role in determining species richness and helminth diversity, but not in determining the abundance of helminths. Host sex does not seem to affect the infection rate nor the diversity. Further studies on more samples of wood mice and other small mammal species in this regional park are needed to explore any possible interactions between helminth communities in the host populations.

The helminth parasites of two sympatric species of the genus Apodemus (Rodentia, Muridae) from south-eastern Slovakia

“…A higher intake of invertebrates in the diet amongst the adults could provide another explanation for differences between age groups. The absence of significant differences between the infracommunities determined by host sex in A. agrarius is in agreement with Behnke et al (1999) and Fuentes et al (2004Fuentes et al ( , 2007 who determined the same pattern for A. sylvaticus. However, significant difference in the mean species richness among females mice compared with males in A. flavicollis was detected.…”

“…Higher helminth diversity and species richness in the adult subpopulation was observed for both A. agrarius and A. flavicollis. The same pattern of species richness and helminth diversity in subpopulations determined by host age was in agreement with studies of A. sylvaticus (Behnke et al 1999;Fuentes et al 2004Fuentes et al , 2007Eira et al 2006). This effect may be related to increasing host age where there is a corresponding increase in total time for exposure to helminth infections, and the fact that helminth burden accumulates with time (Fuentes et al 2007).…”

“…Behnke et al 1999, Abu-Madi et al 2000, Goüy de Bellocq et al 2003, Fuentes et al 2004, Milazzo et al 2005, Eira et al 2006, with very few investigating A. agrarius or A. flavicollis. The prevalence of helminth species in A. agrarius from Belorussia was reported by Shimalov (2002) and the metazoan parasite fauna of A. flavicollis from Germany was described by Klimpel et al (2007a).…”

Helminth communities in three sympatric rodents from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: contrasting biomass and numerical abundance

“…Usually parasite communities and infracommunities are described only numerically, specially in rodents (Fuentes et al, 2004;Maldonado Junior et al, 2006;Simões et al, 2009Simões et al, , 2011. Nevertheless, the size of the parasites is relevant information in order to understand how much parasite biomass can be sustained and how it can determine the helminth community structure.…”

Analysis of helminth communities of the pine marten, Martes martes, in Spain: Mainland and insular data

“…Mastophorus muris is a cosmopolitan nematode frequently found in rodents and insectivores (Torres et al 1992, Portoles et al 2000, Milazzo et al 2003, Fuentes et al 2004. Nevertheless, this spirurid was never reported in M. martes until now.…”