Agricultural activity can alter host-parasite interactions through associated contaminants and habitat perturbations. It is critical to determine whether agricultural effects are widespread or limited to specific types of agriculture. We examined influences of soybean agriculture on trematode parasitism of larval amphibians (grey tree frogs; Hyla versicolor) to assess the potential effects of a commonly applied pesticide (glyphosate) and landscape factors relative to previous field studies focusing on the herbicide atrazine. Overall, trematode parasite infection did not differ between soybean-adjacent and nonagricultural ponds (87.7% and 72.6% mean infection, respectively). However, host-generalist echinostome species were more common in tadpoles from soybean-associated ponds (86.3% mean infection versus 36.2% in nonagricultural ponds) as well as sites with large or short average distances to forest cover and roads, respectively. In contrast, the occurrence of a host-specialist (Alaria sp.) group was greater in nonagricultural ponds (50.3% mean infection versus 9.8% in soybean-associated ponds) and increased with shorter distances to the closest forest patch and smaller average forest distance. Because glyphosate was not detected at any site and landscape influences were parasite-specific, we suggest that agriculture may have broad effects on wildlife diseases through habitat alterations that affect pathogen transmission via host habitat suitability. Notably, nonagricultural ponds had a lower mean distance to the nearest forest patch and lower mean forest distance compared with soybean-adjacent ponds. As a result, we emphasize the need for wider investigations of habitat perturbations generally associated with agriculture for host-pathogen interactions, and consequently, wildlife conservation and management strategies.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
PARASITOLOGY|
October 01 2012
AGRICULTURAL EFFECTS ON AMPHIBIAN PARASITISM: IMPORTANCE OF GENERAL HABITAT PERTURBATIONS AND PARASITE LIFE CYCLES Open Access
Janet Koprivnikar;
Janet Koprivnikar
2
1 Department of Biology, Brandon University, John R. Brodie Science Centre, 270 18th Street, Brandon, Manitoba R7A 6A9, Canada
2 Corresponding author (email: [email protected])
Search for other works by this author on:
Julia C. Redfern
Julia C. Redfern
1 Department of Biology, Brandon University, John R. Brodie Science Centre, 270 18th Street, Brandon, Manitoba R7A 6A9, Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
J Wildl Dis (2012) 48 (4): 925–936.
Article history
Received:
September 02 2011
Accepted:
April 02 2012
Citation
Janet Koprivnikar, Julia C. Redfern; AGRICULTURAL EFFECTS ON AMPHIBIAN PARASITISM: IMPORTANCE OF GENERAL HABITAT PERTURBATIONS AND PARASITE LIFE CYCLES. J Wildl Dis 1 October 2012; 48 (4): 925–936. doi: https://doi.org/10.7589/2011-09-258
Download citation file:
Citing articles via
Fatal Infection in a Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) with Leptospira interrogans Related to the Australis Serogroup in France
Nathan Thenon, Marine Le Guyader, Anouk Decors, Bruno Degrange, Karin Lemberger, Florence Ayral, Rozenn Le Net
Shell Lesion Prevalence and Bacteriome Associations in Threatened Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata and Actinemys pallida) in California, USA
Nathan Green, Aria Norwood, Cyrillus Sidhe, Adrian Mutlow, Jessica Aymen, Rochelle Stiles, Jessie Bushell, Tammy Lim, Edward Culver, Natalie Reeder, Matthew Timmer, Farley Connelly, Jackie Charbonneau, Will McCall, Leslie Koenig, Madison Stein, Nicholas Geist, Max R. Lambert, Obed Hernández-Gómez
Using Multivariate Analyses to Explore Host–Pathogen Coevolution in Complex Trait Space
Rachel M. Ruden, Amberleigh E. Henschen, Marissa M. Langager, Dana M. Hawley, James S. Adelman
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Giant Anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in Mato Grosso Do Sul, Brazil
Mariana Pereira Alexandre, Camila Vêber de Souza, Letícia da Silva Ferreira Ribeiro Mathias, Raffaela Nogueira Bernardo, Vinícius Oliveira Batista, Leila Sabrina Ullmann, Débora Regina Yogui, Mario Henrique Alves, Danilo Kluyber, Mayara Grego Caiaffa, Arnaud Leonard Jean Desbiez, Roberta Lemos Freire, Rafaela Maria Boson Jurkevicz, Luiz Daniel de Barros, Juliana Arena Galhardo
High Prevalence of Antigen of and Specific Antibodies Against Various Viral Pathogens in European Wildcats (Felis silvestris) from Southwest Germany, 2020–2022
Sarah Pauline Stubbe, Johannes Lang, Nicole Nagler, Simon Franz Müller, Michael Lierz