Ecological factors shaping the ectoparasite community assembly of the Azara’s Grass Mouse, Akodon azarae (Rodentia: Cricetidae)

MONJE, L.D.; BELDOMÉNICO, P.M.; COLOMBO, V.C.; ANTONIAZZI, L.R.; LARESCHI, M.; MORAND, S.

PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH

Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH

Año: 2023 vol. 122 p. 2011 - 2021

0932-0113

Parasites are integral members of the global biodiversity. They are useful indicators of environmental stress, food webstructure and diversity. Ectoparasites have the potential to transmit vector-borne diseases of public health and veterinaryimportance and to play an important role in the regulation and evolution of host populations. The interlinkages betweenhosts, parasites and the environment are complex and challenging to study, leading to controversial results. Most previousstudies have been focused on one or two parasite groups, while hosts are often co-infected by different taxa. The presentstudy aims to assess the influence of environmental and host traits on the entire ectoparasite community composition of therodent Akodon azarae. A total of 278 rodents were examined and mites (Mesostigmata), lice (Phthiraptera), ticks (Ixodida)and fleas (Siphonaptera) were determined. A multi-correspondence analysis was performed in order to analyze interactionswithin the ectoparasite community and the influence of environmental and host variables on this assembly. We found thatenvironmental variables have a stronger influence on the composition of the ectoparasite community of A. azarae than thehost variables analyzed. Minimum temperature was the most influential variable among the studied. In addition, we foundevidence of agonistic and antagonistic interactions between ticks and mites, lice and fleas. The present study supports thehypothesis that minimum temperature plays a major role in the dynamics that shape the ectoparasite community of A. azarae,probably through both direct and indirect processes. This finding becomes particularly relevant in a climate change scenario.