Functional traits shape small mammal-helminth network: patterns and processes in species interactions

Understanding the role of species traits in mediating ecological interactions and shaping community structure is a key question in ecology. In this sense, parasite population parameters allow us to estimate the functional importance of traits in shaping the strength of interactions among hosts and p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology 2021-07, Vol.148 (8), p.947-955
Main Authors: Cardoso, Thiago Dos Santos, Andreazzi, Cecilia Siliansky de, Maldonado Junior, Arnaldo, Gentile, Rosana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Animals
Biodiversity
Body length
Brazil - epidemiology
Community structure
Didelphis - parasitology
Diet
Helminthiasis, Animal - epidemiology
Helminthiasis, Animal - parasitology
Helminths - anatomy & histology
Helminths - classification
Helminths - physiology
Host-Parasite Interactions
Infections
Life cycles
Mammals
Marsupialia - parasitology
Marsupials
Modular structures
Morphology
Parameters
Parasites
Rodentia
Small mammals
Software
Species
Taxonomy
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Summary:Understanding the role of species traits in mediating ecological interactions and shaping community structure is a key question in ecology. In this sense, parasite population parameters allow us to estimate the functional importance of traits in shaping the strength of interactions among hosts and parasites in a network. The aim of this study was to survey and analyse the small mammal-helminth network in a forest reserve of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in order to understand (i) how functional traits (type of parasite life cycle, site of infection in their host, host and parasite body length, host diet, host locomotor habit and host activity period) and abundance influence host–parasite interactions, (ii) whether these traits explain species roles, and (iii) if this relationship is consistent across different parasite population parameters (presence and absence, mean abundance and prevalence). Networks were modular and their structural patterns did not vary among the population parameters. Functional traits and abundance shaped the interactions observed between parasites and hosts. Host species abundance, host diet and locomotor habit affected their centrality and/or vulnerability to parasites. For helminths, infection niche was the main trait determining their central roles in the networks.
ISSN:0031-1820
1469-8161
DOI:10.1017/S0031182021000640