Human-dominated habitats and helminth parasitism in Southeast Asian murids

Abstract

The effect of habitat anthropization is investigated using a comparative analysis based on a literature survey of the gastrointestinal helminths of murid rodents described in Southeast Asia (SEA). The literature survey gave 30 references on helminth diversity concerning 20 murid rodent species. The diversity of helminths was high with a total of 13 species of cestodes, 15 species of trematodes, 29 species of nematodes and one species of acanthocephalans. The highest helminth species richness was found in Rattus tanezumi, Rattus norvegicus and Rattus argentiventer, all these species were found in more human-dominated habitats (agricultural areas or human settlements). Helminth species richness was positively linked across rodent species to the level of the anthropization of the host environment from forests, agricultural areas to human settlements. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.