Authors
Giovana Dias Silva, Adonias Aphoena Martins Teixeira, Lissa Dellefrate Franzini, Daniel Oliveira Mesquita, Samuel Vieira Brito
Publication date
2023/12/27
Journal
Acta Herpetologica
Volume
18
Issue
2
Pages
105-114
Description
Spatial and temporal variations can influence the abundance and biology of parasite species and even the transmission process, as well as the diet, reproduction and distribution of hosts. We studied the influence of seasonality on the diet and endoparasites of the lizard Strobilurus torquatus. The lizards were collected during a period of one year, in the Engenho Gargaú Private Reserve of Natural Heritage, located in the municipality of Santa Rita, in the state of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil. Thirty-three lizards were analysed, of which 30 were parasitised (overall prevalence of 90%) with the helminths Physaloptera lutzi (prevalence of 69.6%), Spauligodon loboi (51.5%), Strongyluris oscari (15.1%) and Haplometroides odhneri (3.0%). Our analysis showed that endoparasite abundance was influenced by host body size. Host sex also influenced endoparasite abundance, where males were parasitised more than females …