DAO 82:19-26 (2008)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao01963

ABSTRACT: The objective of the present work was to study the helminth infracommunities of Amietophrynus (Bufo) regularis and the possible effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on infracommunity structure and on the infection parameters of each parasite species involved. A total of 129 A. regularis were collected from Ismailia, Egypt, over 3 seasons. Helminth infracommunities consisted of 8 helminth taxa (1 monogenean, 1 digenean, 1 cestode, 3 nematodes, and 2 acanthocephalans [1 adult and 1 cystacanth]). Aplectana macintoshii had the highest prevalence (82.94%), mean abundance (73.74), and mean intensity (88.91) and can be considered a core species. A. macintoshii dominated in 68.99% of the infracommunities, with a high Berger-Parker index value (0.9). Only 9 toads were uninfected; the remainder harbored between 1 and 7 helminth species and 1 to 632 ind. Mean species richness and abundance were 2.13 ± 0.13 and 81.34 ± 13.60, respectively, while evenness and diversity were 0.3 and 0.44, respectively.The results revealed that season, host sex, and age played significant roles in determining infracommunity species richness. The patterns of helminth infracommunity richness and diversity were similar to those previously observed in other amphibian hosts. This study indicated that the helminth community of A. regularis was depauperate.

KEY WORDS: Amietophrynus regularis · Helminth infracommunity · Body size · Season · Sex · Parasite load