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Helminth parasitism in the Neotropical cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, in Southern Brazil: effect of host size, weight, sex, and maturity state

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Abstract

Forty-seven specimens of Neotropical cormorants, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, from Lago Guaíba, Guaíba, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (30° 00′ S, 51°15′ W), were examined for helminth parasites between 1999 and 2003. Twenty species of helminth parasites were found: ten digeneans: Austrodiplostomum mordax, Austrodiplostomum compactum, Clinostomum sp., Drepanocephalus olivaceus, Drepanocephalus spathans, Hysteromorpha triloba, Ignavia olivacei, Paryphostomum segregatum, Prosthogonimus ovatus, and Ribeiroia ondatrae; one cestode: Paradilepis caballeroi; eight nematodes: Contracaecum rudolphii, Eucoleus contortus, Eustrongylides sp., Ornithocapillaria appendiculata, Syngamus sp., Syncuaria squamata, Tetrameres (Gynaecophila) sp., and one undetermined capillariid (genus and species); and one acanthocephalan: Andracantha tandemtesticulata. The length and weight of male and female birds, as well as their sexual maturity (juvenile or adult), did not show significant difference regarding the helminth fauna; the standard length did not influence the helminth parasite indices. The prevalence of I. olivacei was higher in larger birds while the intensity of infection by this digenean species was higher in females. The abundance of P. caballeroi was higher in male birds. A. mordax and H. triloba showed higher prevalence and abundance in juvenile hosts, while O. appendiculata was more abundant in juveniles. The remaining species did not have their parasite indices influenced by the host parameters studied. The present work records the richest helminth fauna for any bird of the genus Phalacrocorax and is the first study to evaluate the influence of length, weight, sex, and maturity state on parasitism.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank IBAMA, for the permits to collect the birds; CAPES, for the scholarship given to the first author; Dr Philip J. Scholl, for kindly reviewing the English version of the manuscript; and M.Sc. Luiz C. C. Daudt and M.Sc. Samantha A. Seixas for their valuable help in the laboratory.

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  1. Cassandra M. Monteiro

    Present address: Curso de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, RJ, 2380–000, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Cassandra M. Monteiro, José F. R. Amato & Suzana B. Amato

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  1. Cassandra M. Monteiro
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  2. José F. R. Amato
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  3. Suzana B. Amato
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Correspondence to Suzana B. Amato.

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Monteiro, C.M., Amato, J.F.R. & Amato, S.B. Helminth parasitism in the Neotropical cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, in Southern Brazil: effect of host size, weight, sex, and maturity state. Parasitol Res 109, 849–855 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2311-x

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