Haemosporidian infections in wild populations of Podarcis muralis from the Italian Peninsula.
Parasitology
; 149(9): 1179-1185, 2022 08.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35570677
ABSTRACT
Parasites can significantly influence the ecology, behaviour and physiology of their hosts sometimes with remarkable effects on their survivorship. However, endemic parasites or those not associated with obvious clinical disease have been partly neglected in the past decades comparatively to the most pathogenic ones. Apicomplexa are an important example of blood parasites that have been broadly investigated, although it can be difficult to determine the effects of infections at the population level, especially in widespread species. Such is the case of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). We investigated 61 populations across Italy between 2008 and 2017 and recorded snoutvent length, latitude, date of collection and took blood samples for parasite count. We modelled parasite prevalence and load in a Bayesian framework. Parasites were present in all populations but 1 and in 13 of them all individuals were parasitized. We recorded almost identical responses for probability of infection and parasite load in both sexes, directly proportional to body size and inversely proportional to latitude, with a peak in cooler months. Therefore, haemosporidians can be very common in P. muralis, although their presence can vary significantly. Moreover, such a high prevalence makes it necessary to investigate to what extent haemosporidians affect hosts' survivorship, taking into consideration abiotic and biotic factors such as temperature, hormone levels and immune response.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
3_ND
Problema de salud:
3_zoonosis
Asunto principal:
Infecciones Protozoarias en Animales
/
Lagartos
/
Animales Salvajes
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Animals
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Parasitology
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia