Environmental effects of anthropogenic waste on intestinal nematode parasites of murid rodents in Istria, Croatia

Summary. The quantity and extent of municipal solid waste is rising as urbanization, mass consumption, and consumer lifestyles have become more prevalent worldwide. Many cities cannot effectively manage their own waste, which leads to the creation of illegal waste sites. We investigated the potential effects of illegal waste dumping on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of rodent-parasite communities in semi-natural habitats. In particular, we studied spatial host-parasite turnover rates as a function of urbanization and the presence of illegal waste sites for four species of the family Muridae: house mouse (Mus musculus), wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), striped field mouse (A. agrarius), and yellow-necked mouse (A. flavicollis). Eleven species of intestinal nematodes were found, with varying levels of prevalence, mean infection intensity and mean abundance in different habitat types. We found that the composition of parasite communities did not depend on the level of habitat degradation, although it did depend on the host community structure. Generalized Linear Model analysis showed that there was no relationship between negative anthropogenic disturbances of natural habitat and parasite abundance. However, the prevalence of Syphacia stroma, S. frederici, S. obvelata, Heterakis spumosa and Rictularia proni was significantly different between different types of habitat disturbance. These results suggest that human disturbances affect the presence and species composition of intestinal nematodes of mice at specific sites, although further and more systematic research on a larger scale is necessary

The fauna of small mammals in the vicinity of Temerin, The Vojvodina providence

The samples collected by traps in the vicinity of Temerin and the analysis of pellets of the long-eared owl (Asia otus) and the barn owl (Tyto alba) served as a basis for the determination of 409 individuals of small mammals of the orders Insectivora and Rodentia. A total of 13 species from the families Soricidae (6), Muridae (4) and Arvi-colidae (3) was recorded. The representatives of the species Apodemus sylvaticus prevailed in the sample obtained by traps while the pellet analysis showed the domination of Micro-tus arvalis in the owl diet. The presence of five of the total of thirteen species found by the pellet analysis was confirmed by means of traps

Nematofauna of bank vole: Clethrionomys glareolus (Schreber, 1780) from Mt. Fruška gora (Serbia)

The nematofauna of bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) was analyzed for the first time from samples collected in our country. The specimens were collected in Fruška Gora National Park (locality of Brankovac). The number of collected specimens was 138, and infestation with seven nematode species was determined: Heligmosomum mixtum (Schulz, 1954), Heligmosomoides glareoli (Baylis, 1928), Syphacia petrusewiczi (Bernard, 1966), S. stroma (Linstow, 1884), Capillaria murissylvatici (Dieseng, 1851), Trichocephalus muris Schrank, 1788, and Aspiculuris tetraptera (Nitzsch, 1821). The species Heligmosomum mixtum, Heligmosomoides glareoli, and Syphacia petrusewiczi represent the first records for the territory of our country. The species best represented in the sample were H. glareoli and S. petrusewiczi. There were no statistically significant differences between the sexes of host species regarding the prevalence, mean intensity, or mean abundance of parasite invasion

NEMATOFAUNA OF BANK VOLE – CLETHRIONOMYS GLAREOLUS (SCHREBER, 1780) – FROM MT. FRUŠKA GORA (SERBIA)

Abstract — The nematofauna of bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) was analyzed for the first time from samples collected in our country. The specimens were collected in Fruška Gora National Park (locality of Brankovac). The number of collected specimens was 138, and infestation with seven nematode species was determined: Heligmosomum mixtu