Abstract
The study of host–parasite interactions is essential to understand the role of each host species in the parasitic transmission cycles in a given community. The use of ecological network highlights the patterns of interactions between hosts and parasites, allowing us to evaluate the underlying structural features and epidemiological roles of different species within this context. Through network analysis, we aimed to understand the epidemiological roles of mammalian hosts species (n = 67) and their parasites (n = 257) in the Pantanal biome. Our analysis revealed a modular pattern within the network, characterized by 14 distinct modules, as well as nestedness patterns within these modules. Some key nodes, such as the multi-host parasites Trypanosoma cruzi and T. evansi, connect different modules and species. These central nodes showed us that various hosts species, including those with high local abundances, contribute to parasite maintenance. Ectoparasites, such as ticks and fleas, exhibit connections that reflect their roles as vectors of certain parasites. Overall, our findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the structure of host–parasite interactions in the Pantanal ecosystem, highlighting the importance of network analysis as a tool to identifying the main transmission routes and maintenance of parasites pathways. Such insights are valuable for parasitic disease control and prevention strategies and shed light on the broader complexities of ecological communities.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the institutions that provide the structure to carried out our work: Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Dom Bosco Catholic University and Homem Pantaneiro Institution.
Funding
This work was supported by the following Brazilian research agencies: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Nível Superior (CAPES – Finance code 001), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (FUNDECT). FMS received a fellowship from CAPES (88887.369261/2019–00). NYS received a fellowship from Project Rede Pantanal from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations of Brazil (FINEP Grant No. 01.20.0201.00). HMH is a fellowship researcher from CNPq (Productivity Scholarship-Level 2).
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The conceptualization started by NYS, HMH, and FMS, while data curation were carried out by GEOP and GCM. Formal analysis was made by NYS and FMS, where Fig. 1 was made by FMS, and tables were made and formatted by NYS, with some advises of HMH and GEOP. HMH was responsible for the funding acquisition. The main manuscript was written by NYS, with editing of FMS. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Sano, N.Y., Herrera, H.M., Porfirio, G.E.d. et al. Exploring interactions between parasites and their hosts in the Pantanal floodplain using an ecological network approach. Parasitol Res 123, 128 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08140-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08140-1