What is the diversity and pattern of network interactions parasite-host in amphibians (Anura) from Caatinga domain? – A meta-analysis

Abstract

The first records in the literature compiled on the parasitic fauna of amphibians in Northeastern Brazil date back to the 1990s. Since then, several new studies have been published on parasite-host relationships, parasite communities, and descriptions of new taxa. However, only in the last decade has there been a significant increase in these studies. Given this growth, we aim to provide a complete and updated compilation of helminth records associated with amphibians from the Brazilian Northeastern region and to analyse the dynamics and network structure formed between parasites and their hosts. Therefore, 33 studies were found in the specialized literature that addressed data from eight families, 15 genera, and 34 species of anuran amphibians, distributed mainly in areas of the morphoclimatic domain of the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest remnants in the Brazilian Northeast. These data correspond to 35% of the total known species of the Caatinga, with Leptodactylidae being the most representative taxon. Regarding helminths, 51 species were recorded, belonging to 20 families and 32 genera. To evaluate the structure of the network, we used measures of connectivity, nestedness, modularity, and centrality, that were considered to identify key species. The web presented 247 interactions with a highly connected structure formed by two parasite generalist species, non-nested and non-modular. We concluded that anuran amphibians from the Brazilian Northeast possess a high parasitic diversity, being Bufonidae and Leptodactylidade taxa considered fundamental for the network structure. Herein, we provided the first analysis of the global framework of parasite communities in amphibians from Brazilian Northeast, by using antagonistic network interactions.