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Dib, L.V.
Gastrointestinal helminths and protozoa in fecal material from carnivorous mammals and Artiodactyla from Itatiaia National Park, Brazil
2019  Full Book

After the collection, the feces were submitted to techniques for identification through fecal macroscopic morphological analysis, trichological cuticle and guard marrow, and molecular biology through the sequencing of fragments from 12S gene for the carnivorous and COI for artiodactyls. For parasite research were performed coproparasitological techniques of Faust et al., Modified Ritchie and Sheather and Lutz, as well as the enzyme immunoassay for the detection of Cryptosporidium sp. Of the 244 fecal samples, 78.7% were collected in the high part of the park, 19.3% in Visconde de Mau  and 2% in the low part. In the end, the species identified were C. brachyurus (45.5%), L. guttulus (24.2%), C. familiaris (5.3%), C. thous (1.2%), P. yagouaroundi (0.4%), L. pardalis (0.4%), T. pecari (6.1%), and S. scrofa (4.9%). The overall positivity for parasite structures was 81.1%. Helminthes were more detected in carnivore's samples (70.9%) than artiodactyls (32.2%), being Families Ascarididae (30.8%) and Diphyllobothriidae (21.3%) eggs the most detected helminthes. Protozoa presented higher frequency in artiodactyls (87.1%) than in carnivores (25.3%), highlighting the coproantigens of Cryptosporidium sp. (27.4%), and non-sporulated coccidian oocysts (4.1%). The highest values of richness (R) of parasite structure, as well as the Shannon (H ') and Simpon (D) diversity indeces were evidenced in fecal samples of C. brachyurus (R = 12, H' = 2,2504, D = 0,881 ), followed by L. guttulus (R = 10; H '= 19905; D = 0.844). Both species presented stabilization in the curve of accumulation of parasite structures. In relation to the artiodactyls, S. scrofa presented higher richness and diversity indices (R = 6, H '= 1.4286, D = 0.721) than T. pecari (R = 4, H' = 1.0627, D = 0.605), being S. scrofa the only species whose curve of accumulation of parasitic structures did not stabilize. A significant statistical difference was observed in the Shannon index when comparing the diversity of the parasite structures detected among the animals that had the highest diversity indexes between C. brachyurus and C. familiaris and among those phylogenetically more distant, such as C. brachyurus and L. guttulus with the species of artiodactyls. The Sorensen similarity index, closer to the value = 1, that is, perfect similarity in the pattern of parasite structures, occurred between C. brachyurus and L. guttulus, T. pecari and S. scrofa, and C. thous and P. yagouaroundi. The eggs of helminthes most evidenced in the samples collected in the park were those of Ascarididae Family, similar to Toxocara sp. and those of the Diphyllobothriidae Family. Both were detected in the feces of C. brachyurus, C. thous, L. guttulus, and P. yagouaroundi. The most diagnosed protozoa were the Cryptosporidium sp. which was detected in all species of animals identified. The most evidenced parasite association occurred among the most detected parasites in the carnivorous samples, including the Family Ascarididae and the Diphyllobothriidae eggs and between Family Ascarididae and Trichuris sp.. Through the association of three identification techniques of carnivorous and artiodactyls was possible to identify the fecal material as well as the parasite structures that may potentially be infecting these animals and thus to carry out a parasitological survey for the first time from non-invasive fecal samples of carnivores and artiodactyls that circulate in the three different parts of the Itatiaia National Park

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