Association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western Tanzania.
Human disturbance is an ongoing threat to many wildlife species, manifesting as habitat destruction, resource overuse, or increased disease exposure, among others. With increasing human: non-human primate (NHP) encounters, NHPs are increasingly susceptible to human-introduced diseases, including tho...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262481 |
| _version_ | 1818981973766438912 |
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| author | Bethan Mason Alex K Piel David Modrý Klára J Petrželková Fiona A Stewart Barbora Pafčo |
| author_facet | Bethan Mason Alex K Piel David Modrý Klára J Petrželková Fiona A Stewart Barbora Pafčo |
| author_sort | Bethan Mason |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human disturbance is an ongoing threat to many wildlife species, manifesting as habitat destruction, resource overuse, or increased disease exposure, among others. With increasing human: non-human primate (NHP) encounters, NHPs are increasingly susceptible to human-introduced diseases, including those with parasitic origins. As such, epidemiology of parasitic disease is becoming an important consideration for NHP conservation strategies. To investigate the relationship between parasite infections and human disturbance we studied yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) living outside of national park boundaries in western Tanzania, collecting 135 fresh faecal samples from nine troops occupying areas with varying levels of human disturbance. We fixed all samples in 10% formalin and later evaluated parasite prevalence and abundance (of isotrichid ciliates and Strongylida). We identified seven protozoan and four helminth taxa. Taxa showed varied relationships with human disturbance, baboon troop size and host age. In four taxa, we found a positive association between prevalence and troop size. We also report a trend towards higher parasite prevalence of two taxa in less disturbed areas. To the contrary, high levels of human disturbance predicted increased abundance of isotrichid ciliates, although no relationship was found between disturbance and Strongylida abundance. Our results provide mixed evidence that human disturbance is associated with NHP parasite infections, highlighting the need to consider monitoring parasite infections when developing NHP conservation strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T17:39:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-944b746b796b48c88603d442570fbfae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T17:39:50Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-944b746b796b48c88603d442570fbfae2022-12-21T19:31:09ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01171e026248110.1371/journal.pone.0262481Association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western Tanzania.Bethan MasonAlex K PielDavid ModrýKlára J PetrželkováFiona A StewartBarbora PafčoHuman disturbance is an ongoing threat to many wildlife species, manifesting as habitat destruction, resource overuse, or increased disease exposure, among others. With increasing human: non-human primate (NHP) encounters, NHPs are increasingly susceptible to human-introduced diseases, including those with parasitic origins. As such, epidemiology of parasitic disease is becoming an important consideration for NHP conservation strategies. To investigate the relationship between parasite infections and human disturbance we studied yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) living outside of national park boundaries in western Tanzania, collecting 135 fresh faecal samples from nine troops occupying areas with varying levels of human disturbance. We fixed all samples in 10% formalin and later evaluated parasite prevalence and abundance (of isotrichid ciliates and Strongylida). We identified seven protozoan and four helminth taxa. Taxa showed varied relationships with human disturbance, baboon troop size and host age. In four taxa, we found a positive association between prevalence and troop size. We also report a trend towards higher parasite prevalence of two taxa in less disturbed areas. To the contrary, high levels of human disturbance predicted increased abundance of isotrichid ciliates, although no relationship was found between disturbance and Strongylida abundance. Our results provide mixed evidence that human disturbance is associated with NHP parasite infections, highlighting the need to consider monitoring parasite infections when developing NHP conservation strategies.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262481 |
| spellingShingle | Bethan Mason Alex K Piel David Modrý Klára J Petrželková Fiona A Stewart Barbora Pafčo Association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western Tanzania. PLoS ONE |
| title | Association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western Tanzania. |
| title_full | Association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western Tanzania. |
| title_fullStr | Association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western Tanzania. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western Tanzania. |
| title_short | Association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western Tanzania. |
| title_sort | association of human disturbance and gastrointestinal parasite infection of yellow baboons in western tanzania |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262481 |
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