Parasitism in heterogeneous landscapes: association between conserved habitats and gastrointestinal parasites in populations of wild mammals.

Abstract

Parasites constitute essential elements of biodiversity, playing fundamental roles for the functioning and configuration of any ecosystem. The continuous and accelerated human expansion into previously pristine territories is changing landscape structure and climatic regimes that could alter host – parasite dynamics. We explore the influence of landscape structure and habitat quality on gastrointestinal parasites in several species of mammals inhabiting remnants of tall evergreen forest within a matrix of anthropic vegetation. Here, we record 32 taxa of gastrointestinal parasites with nematodes as the most diverse group. Landscape variables such as forest edge density, river density and percentage of conserved habitat were among the best predictors of gastrointestinal parasites. Parasite species richness increased with a higher proportion of conserved habitat, but hosts living in disturbed areas show higher intensity of infection. The results presented here indicate that parasites are susceptible to habitat perturbation. It is pertinent to keep monitoring wildlife health in human dominated landscapes to understand disease dynamics, zoonotic risk, and ecosystem health.