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Parasite community structure in sympatric Bornean primates
- Source :
- International Journal for Parasitology. 51:925-933
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Parasites are important components of ecosystems, influencing trophic networks, competitive interactions and biodiversity patterns. Nonetheless, we are not nearly close to disentangling their complex roles in natural systems. Southeast Asia falls within global areas targeted as most likely to source parasites with zoonotic potential, where high rates of land conversion and fragmentation have altered the circulation of wildlife species and their parasites, potentially resulting in altered host-parasite systems. Although the overall biodiversity in the region predicts equally high, or even higher, parasite diversity, we know surprisingly little about wild primate parasites, even though this constitutes the first step towards a more comprehensive understanding of parasite transmission processes. Here, we characterise the gastrointestinal helminth parasite assemblages of a community of Bornean primates living along the Kinabatangan floodplain in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo), including two species endemic to the island. Through parasitological analyses, and by using several measures of parasite infection as proxies for parasite diversity and distribution, we show that (i) most parasite taxonomic groups are not limited to a single host, suggesting a greater flexibility for habitat disturbance, (ii) parasite infracommunities of nocturnal primates differ from their diurnal counterparts, reflecting both phylogenetic and ecological constraints, and (iii) soil-transmitted helminths such as whipworm, threadworm and nodule worm are widespread across the primate community. This study also provides new parasite records for southern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina), silvered langurs (Trachypithecus cristatus) and Western tarsiers (Cephalopachus bancanus) in the wild, while adding to the limited records for the other primate species in the community. Given the information gap regarding primate-parasite associations in the region, the information presented here should prove relevant for future studies of parasite biodiversity and infectious disease ecology in Asia and elsewhere. Published version This study was financially supported by grants from Kyoto University, Japan through its Step-Up program (AM) and by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (#24770232 and #16H06181 to AM, and #15H04283 to MO). LF was supported by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) through a Monbukagakusho schol- arship (#140411), by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through a JSPS-DC2 fellowship and Grant-in-Aid (#446), and by the Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science (PWS) of Kyoto University (JSPS-U04).
- Subjects :
- Primates
0301 basic medicine
030231 tropical medicine
Wildlife
Biodiversity
Zoology
Biology
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Biological sciences::Ecology [Science]
Helminths
Animals
Parasite hosting
Parasites
Ecosystem
Phylogeny
Trophic level
Community structure
Southeast Asia
030104 developmental biology
Infectious Diseases
Habitat
Sympatric speciation
Wildlife parasites
Parasitology
Anthropogenic landscapes
Host-parasite interactions
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00207519
- Volume :
- 51
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal for Parasitology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a49142d184bfea05a1c90296dc75046d