Gastrointestinal parasites of owl monkeys (Aotus azarai azarai) in the Argentinean Chaco

J. P. Perea-Rodriguez; A. M. Milano; B. E. Osherov; E. Fernandez-Duque

doi:10.1896/044.017.0105

Authors

J. P. Perea-Rodriguez DuMond Conservancy, 14805 SW 216th Street, Miami, Florida, 33170, USA. Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA.
A. M. Milano Cátedra de Biología de los Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Av. Libertad 5470 (3400) Corrientes, Argentina.
B. E. Osherov Cátedra de Biología de los Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Av. Libertad 5470 (3400) Corrientes, Argentina.
E. Fernandez-Duque Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral, Conicet, Argentina.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1896/044.017.0105

Keywords:

Forest fragmentation, parasite richness, owl monkeys, gastrointestinal parasites, helminths, gallery forest

Abstract

In fragmented habitats, an increase in the proportion of available forest edge has been positively correlated to parasite richness. We evaluated how the presence of forest edge may affect parasite-host dynamics in a population of wild owl monkeys (Aotus azarai azarai) in an unlogged gallery forest in Formosa, Argentina. We collected 53 fecal samples from groups inhabiting edge territories (n = 7 groups, 33 samples) and groups inhabiting the interior of the forest (n = 3 groups, 15 samples). We compared the number of parasite species (richness) found between the two types of groups, as well as the frequency of samples with multiple infections (more than one parasite species in the sample) and the distribution of helminths on the forest floor between habitat types. The number of parasite species, the proportion of samples with multiple infections and the helminth distribution were not significantly different across the two habitat types.