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Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T23:35:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-01-09 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) In nature, parasitic infections must be addressed as complex systems involving parasite-host relationships on a temporal and spatial scale. Since the parasites cover a great biological diversity, we can expect that wildlife are exposed simultaneously to different parasites. In this sense, the objective of this work was to determine the relationships between free-living mammals and their associated hemoparasites in the Brazilian Pantanal. We used the data published during 2017 and 2018 by de Sousa et al. regarding the detection of vector-borne pathogens (VBP), namely Anaplasma, Babesia, Bartonella, Cytauxzoon, Ehrlichia, Hepatozoon, Mycoplasma, and Theileria, in nine species of free-living mammals belonging to orders Carnivora, Rodentia, and Didelphimorphia. We assume as infected an individual positive on any of parasitological, molecular, and/or serological tests. We observed a strong association between the wild felid Leopardus pardalis with Cytauxzoon, the wild canid Cerdocyon thous with Hepatozoon, the small rodent Thrichomys fosteri with Bartonella, and the procyonid Nasua nasua with Mycoplasma and Theileria. Therefore, N. nasua, C. thous, T. fosteri, and the small rodent Oecomys mamorae can be considered key species for the maintenance of selected VBP in the Pantanal region, because they showed a high number of single and coinfections. Together, our results highlighted the importance of coinfection as a common phenomenon in nature. Univ Catolica Dom Bosco, Posgrad Ciencias Ambientais & Sustentabilidade Ag, Ave Tamandare 6000, BR-79117900 Campo Grande, MS, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Lab Imunoparasitol, Dept Patol Reprod & Saude Unica, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Fed Mato Grosso do Sul, Posgrad Ecol & Conservacao, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil Univ Catolica Dom Bosco, Posgrad Biotecnol, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Lab Imunoparasitol, Dept Patol Reprod & Saude Unica, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Sao Paulo, Brazil CAPES: 88887.369261/2019-00 CNPq: 308768/2017-5 CNPq: 302420/2017-7 CAPES: 001 CAPES: 88887.194498/2018-00 CAPES: 88887.149231/2017-00 CAPES: 71/700.169/2020

Parasitism is a dynamic ecological phenomenon that is constantly influenced by the environment and intrinsic factors of the host. We aimed to evaluate the influence of vegetation, environmental temperature, reproductive conditions, sex, and body condition (BC) on the detection of Trypanosoma spp. in the blood of Thrichomys fosteri in the Pantanal region, an enzootic area for trypanosomiasis. Whole blood was collected from the tip of the tail, and nPCR was performed for Trypanosoma spp. detection from the DNA extracted from the resultant blood clot. Statistical analyses were performed using generalized linear models. Our results showed that there is a greater probability of detection of Trypanosoma spp. in the bloodstream of animals with the highest BC values in periods with mild temperatures. Since T. fosteri is an abundant and common prey for carnivores, even in periods with low temperatures and consequent decrease in the reproduction and activities of the blood-sucking arthropod vectors, the maintenance of Trypanosoma spp. in the studied area would be guaranteed via predation (trophic network) of T. fosteri individuals with good BC and patent parasitemia. Furthermore, T. fosteri, which displays Trypanosoma spp. in the bloodstream, would be reproducing adequately because we found no influence between the reproductive condition and the detection of Trypanosoma spp. in T. fosteri. The caviomorph rodent T. fostei is an important species for the maintenance of Trypanosoma spp. in the Pantanal biome.