The intestinal helminth parasites of the impala from the Kruger National Park, South Africa, were examined to describe the parasite community structure. Demographic variation and the associated differences in behavior were used to further investigate the patterns of community composition. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to test for differences in species richness and mean abundance between the various demographic groups, and nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination was used to compare community composition. Seventeen species of nematodes, totaling more than 1.3 million worms, were recovered. Males harbored a greater number of nematode species than did females, but adult females were more heavily infected than their male counterparts. Lambs acquired infections early in life, and their parasite community composition rapidly approached that of the older animals. The parasite community in the juvenile and adult males was significantly different from the community of the adult females. These data suggest that social and feeding behavior of the different age–sex classes structure the parasite component community of impala. Additionally, the distinction between common and rare parasites, and their classification in other herbivores, implies complex transmission dynamics that includes extensive species sharing within the Kruger National Park.
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December 2006
Research Article|
December 01 2006
AN EXAMINATION OF THE INFRACOMMUNITIES AND COMPONENT COMMUNITIES FROM IMPALA (AEPYCEROS MELAMPUS) IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA
N. J. Negovetich;
N. J. Negovetich
Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109. negonj1@wfu.edu
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K. J. Fellis;
K. J. Fellis
Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109. negonj1@wfu.edu
* Present address: Genome Biology, Biosciences, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, L-441, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551
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G. W. Esch;
G. W. Esch
Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109. negonj1@wfu.edu
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I. G. Horak;
I. G. Horak
Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109. negonj1@wfu.edu
† Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
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J. Boomker
J. Boomker
Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109. negonj1@wfu.edu
† Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
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J Parasitol (2006) 92 (6): 1180–1190.
Citation
N. J. Negovetich, K. J. Fellis, G. W. Esch, I. G. Horak, J. Boomker; AN EXAMINATION OF THE INFRACOMMUNITIES AND COMPONENT COMMUNITIES FROM IMPALA (AEPYCEROS MELAMPUS) IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA. J Parasitol 1 December 2006; 92 (6): 1180–1190. doi: https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-934R.1
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