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Summary. A total of 231 individual mouse-like rodents (striped field mice Apodemus agrarius, yellow-necked mice A. flavicollis and common voles Microtus arvalis) from five localities in Serbia were subjected to parasitological research. Seven helminth species were identified based on morphological and morphometric criteria: two trematodes (Brachylaimus recurvus and B. apodemi) and five cestodes (Hymenolepis fraterna, H. diminuta, H. straminea, Paranoplocephala omphalodes and Skrjabinotaenia lobata). Total sample prevalence was 15.1% (14.9% in female and 15.4% in male hosts) with a significantly higher number of infected A. agrarius specimens than infected A. flavicollis specimens. Furthermore, the studied Apodemus host species differed in parasite species richness. Yellow-necked mice served as hosts for five flatworm species, while in striped field mice only three species were found. The species that infected the highest number of hosts was H. fraterna. The trematodes B. recurvus and B. apodemi are reported in Serbia for the first time. We highlight the presence of two species with zoonotic potential, H. fraterna and H. diminuta, in the sample of Apodemus hosts, pointing to a need for future monitoring.

Additional file 3. Table S3 Procrustes ANOVAs of shape. % total—percentage of the total shape variation. Age categories: A1—first age category, A2—second age category, A3—third age category

Additional file 1. Table S1 Anatomical definitions of landmarks recorded on the labial view of the mandible and the ventral surface of the cranium of the yellow-necked field mouse (Apodemus flavicollis)

Additional file 2. Table S2 ANOVAs of centroid size (CS). % total—percentage of the total size variation. Age categories: A1—first age category, A2—second age category, A3—third age category

Additional file 4. Table S4 ANOVAs of centroid size (CS). % total—percentage of the total size variation. Categories regarding parasitism: P0—non-parasitized animals, P1—animals parasitized by one nematode species, P2—animals parasitized by two nematode species, P3—animals parasitized by three to five nematode species

The primary objectives of this study were (1) to determine the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in ticks removed from patients for the purpose of singling out sites with increased risk of Lyme borreliosis, and (2) to determine the presence of IgM and/or IgG antibodies against B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s. l.) complex in sera of patients who had ticks removed. From 108 ticks removed from patients, all were examined zoologically and a sub-sample of 91 ticks was tested using PCR analysis to determine the presence of DNA indicating B. burgdorferi infection. To detect anti-Borrelia IgM and/ or IgG antibodies in 61 patients bitten by ticks, we used line recombinant immunoblot test. The most common tick identified was Ixodes ricinus. B. burgdorferi s. l. was present in 37 of 91 tested ticks (40.7%). Seroconversion against B. burgdorferi s. l. antigen was detected in 12 of 61 patients (19.7%). Most of the infected ticks were from the province of Vojvodina (11 municipalities), with the city of Novi Sad proving to be the site with the highest number of infected ticks, 6 in total. Glavni cilj ove studije je bio da se ispita prisustvo B. burgdorferi infekcije u krpeljma uklonjenih sa pacijenata radi utvđivanja lokaliteta sa povećanim rizikom za obolevanje od lajm borelioze, kao i ispitivanje prisustva IgM i/ili IgG antitela usmerenih protiv B. burgdorferi s. l. kompleksa u serumu pacijenata infestiranih krpeljima. Sa pacijenata je prikupljeno i zoološki ispitano 108 krpelja. PCR analiza krpelja korišc'ena je za utvrđivanje prisustva B. burgdorferi s. l. kompleks kod 91 krpelja od ukupnih 108. Za otkrivanje IgM i/ili IgG antitela protiv B. burgdorferi s. l. korišćeni su linijski rekombinantni imunoblot testovi. Najčešc'i identifikovani krpelj je Ixodes ricinus. B. burgdorferi s. l. je bila prisutna u 37 od 91 testiranog krpelja (40,7%). Prisustvo IgM/IgG antitela protiv B. burgdorferi s. l. otkriveno je kod 12 od 61 pacijenta (19,7%). Najviše inficiarnih krpelja je sa teritorije AP Vojvodine (11 opština), gde je urbani deo Novog Sada lokalitet sa najvećim brojem inficiranih krpelja - 6.

Summary. The quantity and extent of municipal solid waste is rising as urbanization, mass consumption, and consumer lifestyles have become more prevalent worldwide. Many cities cannot effectively manage their own waste, which leads to the creation of illegal waste sites. We investigated the potential effects of illegal waste dumping on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of rodent-parasite communities in semi-natural habitats. In particular, we studied spatial host-parasite turnover rates as a function of urbanization and the presence of illegal waste sites for four species of the family Muridae: house mouse (Mus musculus), wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), striped field mouse (A. agrarius), and yellow-necked mouse (A. flavicollis). Eleven species of intestinal nematodes were found, with varying levels of prevalence, mean infection intensity and mean abundance in different habitat types. We found that the composition of parasite communities did not depend on the level of habitat degradation, although it did depend on the host community structure. Generalized Linear Model analysis showed that there was no relationship between negative anthropogenic disturbances of natural habitat and parasite abundance. However, the prevalence of Syphacia stroma, S. frederici, S. obvelata, Heterakis spumosa and Rictularia proni was significantly different between different types of habitat disturbance. These results suggest that human disturbances affect the presence and species composition of intestinal nematodes of mice at specific sites, although further and more systematic research on a larger scale is necessary.

Vršeno je istraživanje intestinalnih nematoda žutogrlog miša (Apodemus flavicollis Melchior, 1834) uzorkovanog sa 18 lokaliteta na teritoriji Srbije, južno od Save i Dunava, sa ciljem proširenja i upotpunjavanja saznanja o ovoj komponenti parazitofaune glodara u ovom delu Evrope. Fauna nematoda crevnog trakta je analizirana sa više aspekata: kvantitativnog, aspekta zajednica, biološkog, aspekta biodiverziteta i aspekta polne strukture. Pored toga, ispitan je uticaj odabranihspoljašnjih i unutrašnjih faktora na prevalencu i abundancu parazitske infekcije.Zabeleženo je prisustvo devet vrsta intestinalnih nematoda, pri čemu je broj vrsta po lokalitetu varirao od 1 do 7. Ukupna prevalenca infekcije iznosila je 81,6%. Najčešće vrste u uzorku bile su Heligmosomoides polygyrus i Syphacia stroma, koje suse odlikovale najvišim prevalencama i intenzitetima infekcije. Distribucija nematoda unutar domaćina je bila agregirana. Broj vrsta po domaćinu varirao je od 1 do 5, ali su najzastupljenije bile infekcije jednom ili dvema vrstama. Najčešća kombinacijavrsta bila je H. polygyrus-S. stroma; međutim, odsustvo podataka iz ranijih istraživanja i adekvatnih polaznih modela sprečava donošenje zaključaka o mogućim interakcijama i asocijacijama između vrsta.Monoksene nematode su bile brojnije i imale veću prevalencu od heteroksenih nematoda, što oslikava razlike u njihovim životnim ciklusima. Među monoksenim nematodama, geohelminti u užem smislu su se odlikovali najvećim prevalencama, a ageohelminti najvećom abundancom, u skladu sa životnim strategijama koje teže ka disperziji ili akumulaciji.Šenonov indeks diverziteta cele uzoračke populacije iznosio je 1,44 što je visoka vrednost u odnosu na one iz drugih delova Evrope. Nije uočena značajna negativna korelacija između udaljenosti lokaliteta i vrednosti Sorensenovog indeksa,ukazujući da je prostorni faktor značajan u strukturiranju zajednica intestinalnih nematoda i na lokalnom nivou. Odnos polova je bio neravnomeran, uglavnom u korist ženki, u skladu sa podacima drugih autora. Ženke su ujedno bile krupnije od mužjaka, saglasno sa ranijim nalazima za parazitske nematode. Nadmorska visina nije uticala na abundancu intestinalnih nematoda. Pol domaćina je uticao na prevalencu dve vrste: prevalenca S. stroma je bila veća kod mužjaka, a prevalenca Trichuris muris kod ženki. Kao značajan faktor uticao je na abundancu samo kod vrste Aonchotheca annulosa; abundanca ove vrste bila je veća kod mužjaka. Rezultati sugerišu da je uticaj pola domaćina na nivo parazitske infekcije izuzetno kompleksan fenomen. Prevalenca i abundanca infekcije intestinalnim nematodama je bila veća kod domaćina sa B hromozomima. Lokalitet je bio značajan faktor u variranju abundance nematoda. Uzrast i prisustvo drugih vrsta nematoda su takođe ispoljavali značajan efekat. Povećanje abundance nematoda sa uzrastom se vezuje za dužu izloženost starijih jedinki parazitima. Iako je registrovan uticaj abundance jedne vrste na abundancu druge, on ne predstavlja čvrst dokaz za postojanje interakcija između vrsta., A study of intestinal nematode parasites was conducted on the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis Melchior, 1834) sampled from 18 sites from Serbia south of the Sava and Danube rivers. The aim of the study was to broaden and enrich the data on this category of rodent parasites in this part of Europe. The nematode fauna of the gastrointestinal tract was analysed from quantitative, community, biological, biodiversity and sex ratio aspects. In addition, selected extrinsic and intrinsic factors were tested for their influence on the prevalence and abundance of infection.Nine species of intestinal nematodes were noted, 1 to 7 per site. Total sample prevalence was 81.6%. Heligmosomoides polygyrus and Syphacia stroma were the most common species, with the highest prevalence and intensity values. Nematodes were aggregated within their hosts. Infracommunity richness varied from 1 to 5, but infections with one or two species were most common. The most frequentcombination of species was H. polygyrus-S. stroma, but in absence of prior research and adequate null models, conclusions of possible interactions and associations between species could not be drawn.Monoxenous nematodes were more abundant and prevalent than heteroxenous species, reflecting the differences in their life cycles. Of the monoxenous nematodes, geohelminths sensu stricto had the highest prevalence values, whereas ageohelminths were most abundant, with respect to their life strategies that favour either dispersal or accumulation. Shannon’s diversity index for the total sample was 1.44, a high value compared to those from other European based studies. A significant negative correlation between site distance and Sorensen index values was not found, implying that spatial factors have an important role in structuring intestinal nematode communities on a local scale. Sex ratio was generally female-biased, in agreement with data from other authors. In addition, females were larger than males, congruent with previous findings for parasitic nematodes.Elevation did not significantly influence intestinal nematode abundance. Host sex influenced the prevalence of two species: for S. stroma prevalence was higher in males, and for Trichuris muris in females. Influence of host sex on abundance was found only for Aonchotheca annulosa, with abundances of this parasite higher in male mice. The results suggest that the effectof host sex on parasite infection levels is a highly complex phenomenon. Infection prevalence and abundance was higher in hosts that carried B chromosomes. Site was a significant factor in explaining variations in nematode abundance. Hostage and presence of other nematode species also exibited effects. An increase in nematode abundance with host age is explained by prolonged exposure to parasites in older host individuals. Although results indicate that the abundance of one species influences the abundance of another, this is not firm evidence of the existence of species interactions.

The ecological studies of rodents, particularly their seasonal fluctuations, have progressed in the last ten years and are presented today with a large number of study analyses regarding the population ecology of the different species of this mammal order. The study was conducted three times per year in the period from 2008 to 2011, at four localities: Apatin, Bogojevo, Labudnjača and Čelarevo. The total number of trapped animals was 2,736, of which the most abundant was Arvicola terrestris, followed by Apodemus agrarius, A. flavicollis, A. sylvaticus and Clethrionomys glareolus. Statistical analyses have confirmed a statistically highly significant effect of temperature on the specimen number of all the three Apodemus species, as well as the impact of relative humidity on the number of A. agrarius and A. sylvaticus. The same analysis did not confirm statistical significance with regard to the influence of the average values of precipitation on the collected specimens of all the three species. All the three species of Apodemus genus demonstrated similar seasonal fluctuations in population densities with distinct peaks in the spring and autumn periods, and low number during the summer. Different abiotic and biotic factors, always in multiple interaction, affect mice population densities in certain habitats, with different intensities and frequencies at specific localities, which is of great significance for the prognosis of their appearance, potential damage to plants and reduced yields.