Helminths of Dasyprocta azarae of the Atlantic Forest biome, National Park of Iguaçu, Brazil

• Grant number: 17/06999-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Estevam Guilherme Lux Hoppe
• Grantee: Andrey Felipe Porto Lopes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Iguaçu National Park, located in the southwest of the state of Paraná, Brazil, is today home to the largest remnant of Atlantic Forest in the country and due to the apparent anthropic action in the area, many plants and animals have suffered changes in its ecological relations. Such changes caused by anthropic action resulted in interspecific relations that were not observed previously, where humans and domestic animals impact the Biome. Agoutis (Dasyprocta azarae) are important seed dispersors in this Biome, but their parasites are scarcely known. As parasites are important regulators of their host's population, studies regarding this subject may contribute to the conservation of the host species. This project aimed to describe the gastrointestinal parasites that affect this host, in order to understand the host-parasite relationship. For that, 12 road-killed agoutis collected in the BR-469 and kept frozen at -20oC, then it will be necropsied for parasite collection. After counting and identification of the parasites, the descriptors of infection will be determined and they will be correlated with phenotypical data of the hosts (body length, weight, age group, and gender) in order to assess the relation of the infection with the host. (AU)