Intestinal parasites of Alouatta caraya (Primates, Ceboidea): preliminary study in semi-captivity and in the wild in Argentina

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Abstract

Endoparasitic infections are common in nonhuman primates and important factors in regulating their natural populations. Primates are particularly vulnerable to the infections of directly transmitted parasites because they often live in close social groups that facilitate their transmission. The main objective of this study was to provide baseline data on gastrointestinal parasites of semi captive and wild howler monkeys Alouatta caraya troops from Argentina. We collected 110 fecal samples from 38 howler monkeys from four troops, two of them kept in semi-captivity at the CRMAN, Córdoba, and two wild troops from Las Lomas, Corrientes. We identified six species of parasites: four Protozoa, Giardia lamblia, Blastocystis hominis, Eimeria sp. and Entamoeba coli; one Cestoda, Bertiella mucronata and one Nematoda, Strongyloides sp. Of the individuals sampled, 86.8% harbored at least one type of gastrointestinal parasite. Protozoa were found in 78.9% of hosts and helminths in 21.1%. We found significant differences in the prevalence of three protozoan species between study sites; and howlers from Las Lomas showed the highest prevalence. The differences found may be related to environmental conditions, where warmer and wetter regions (Las Lomas) favor the survival of infectious stages of some parasitic species.

Translated abstract

Las infecciones endo-parasíticas son frecuentes en los primates no humanos y factores importantes que regulan sus poblaciones naturales. Los primates son particularmente vulnerables a las infecciones por parásitos de transmisión directa debido a que usualmente éstos viven en grupos sociales que facilitan su transmisión. El principal objetivo del presente estudio fue proveer información de los parásitos gastrointestinales que albergan tropas de monos aulladores Alouatta caraya en semi-cautiverio y en vida silvestre en Argentina. Colectamos 110 muestras de materia fecal de 38 monos aulladores pertenecientes a cuatro tropas, dos de ellas mantenidas en semicautiverio en el CRMAN, Córdoba y dos tropas silvestres en campo Las Lomas, Corrientes. Identificamos seis especies de parásitos: cuatro protozoos: Giardia lamblia, Blastocystis hominis, Eimeria sp. y Entamoeba coli; un cestode, Bertiella mucronata y un nematode, Strongyloides sp. El 86.8% de los individuos muestreados presentaron al menos un tipo de parásito gastrointestinal. Se encontraron protozoos en el 78.9% de los animales y helmintos en el 21.1%. Hallamos diferencias significativas en la prevalencia de tres especies de protozoos entre los sitios de estudio, donde los aulladores de Las Lomas mostraron la mayor prevalencia. Las diferencias encontradas pueden estar relacionadas con las condiciones ambientales, donde regiones más cálidas y húmedas (Las Lomas), favorecen la supervivencia de estadios infecciosos de algunas especies de parásitos.

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Most cited references 59

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Comparative tests of parasite species richness in primates.

Menna Jones, Sonia Altizer, Charles Nunn … (2003)

Some hosts harbor diverse parasite communities, whereas others are relatively parasite free. Many factors have been proposed to account for patterns of parasite species richness, but few studies have investigated competing hypotheses among multiple parasite communities in the same host clade. We used a comparative data set of 941 host-parasite combinations, representing 101 anthropoid primate species and 231 parasite taxa, to test the relative importance of four sets of variables that have been proposed as determinants of parasite community diversity in primates: host body mass and life history, social contact and population density, diet, and habitat diversity. We defined parasites broadly to include not only parasitic helminths and arthropods but also viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, and we controlled for effects of uneven sampling effort on per-host measures of parasite diversity. In nonphylogenetic tests, body mass was correlated with total parasite diversity and the diversity of helminths and viruses. When phylogeny was taken into account, however, body mass became nonsignificant. Host population density, a key determinant of parasite spread in many epidemiological models, was associated consistently with total parasite species richness and the diversity of helminths, protozoa, and viruses tested separately. Geographic range size and day range length explained significant variation in the diversity of viruses.