Changes in land use affect anuran helminths in the South Brazilian grasslands

Abstract

Degradation and habitat loss of natural grasslands in Southern Brazil has a negative impact on native organisms, potentially including the composition of anuran helminth communities. Here, we characterized the richness, abundance, taxonomic composition, prevalence and intensity of helminth infection in four anuran species. Host anurans were collected in 34 ponds (19 in native grasslands with livestock and 15 in agricultural cultivation) from the highland grasslands in the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina and Paraná. Our results showed a significant difference between native grasslands with livestock and agricultural cultivation regarding the structure of helminth communities for the hosts Aplastodiscus perviridis and Pseudis cardosoi. We also found a greater prevalence and intensity of infection in anurans in areas of agricultural cultivation than in native grasslands with livestock. We found that the environmental descriptors (local and landscape) seem to explain most of the differences in anuran parasitism recorded between native grasslands with livestock and agricultural areas. Thus, we emphasized that the loss of grassy habitat due to conversion to agricultural cultivation can alter helminth communities in anurans, with further work needed to understand the mechanisms involved.