Torrent frogs have fewer macroparasites but higher rates of chytrid infection in landscapes with smaller forest cover

Author(s)

Forti, Lucas Rodriguez ^[1] ; Pontes, Mariana Retuci ^{[2, 3, 4]} ; Alcantara, Edna Paulino ^[5] ; Morais, Drausio Honorio ^[6] ; Da Silva, Reinaldo Jose ^[5] ; Dodonov, Pavel ^[1] ; Toledo, Luis Felipe ^{[3, 4]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Bahia, Inst Biol, Campus Ondina, BR-40170115 Salvador, BA - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Programa Posgrad Ecol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas, Lab Multiusuario Bioacust LMBio, Dept Biol Anim, Inst Biol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Estadual Campinas, Lab Hist Nat Anfibios Brasileiros LaHNAB, Dept Biol Anim, Inst Biol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Estadual Sao Paulo UNESP, Inst Biol, Setor Parasitol, Rua Prof Doutor Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin S-N, BR-18618689 Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[6] UFU Univ Fed Uberlandia, Inst Ciencias Agr, LMG 746, Km 1, BR-38500000 Monte Carmelo, MG - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ECOSPHERE; v. 11, n. 6 JUN 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Deforestation can compromise ecological processes and biotic interactions, including the host-parasite relationship. While some parasites infect only one host, others require multiple hosts to complete their complex life cycles. In this context, different parasites may have different demands and traits and may have specific responses to habitat degradation. Here, we tested whether forest cover has different effects on different frogs' parasites, as chytrid (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis; Bd) and helminths (Platyhelminthes and Nematoda). We collected data on two stream frog species (Crossodactylus caramaschiiandCrossodactylus schmidti) from nine sites in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, with forest cover ranging from 20% to 99%. Bd presence and load increased with decreasing forest cover, but the opposite was observed for nematodes. Load of monoxenous and heteroxenous helminths increased with forest cover. We suggest that variations in potential host diversity, microclimate conditions, and host immune response may be responsible for the contrasting patterns found for micro-(Bd) and macroparasites (helminths, except Platyhelminthes). Our work brings evidence of how habitat reduction can affect host-parasite relationships, including infection with the pathogen responsible for hundreds of global species extinctions. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/25358-3 - The chytrid fungus: from its origins to its consequences
• Grantee: Luis Felipe de Toledo Ramos Pereira
• Support type: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 20/00099-0 - The chytrid fungus and ranavirus in species of the genus Melanophryniscus (Anura: Bufonidae)
• Grantee: Mariana Retuci Pontes
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 13/21519-4 - Distress call in frogs: a vocalization with coespecific information?
• Grantee: Lucas Rodriguez Forti
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/23388-7 - Comunication and sensory systems of the anurans of the Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Luis Felipe de Toledo Ramos Pereira
• Support type: Regular Research Grants