| dc.description.abstract | Amphibians were the first vertebrate group to appear on land about 350 m.y.a and have
diversified and colonized all suitable continents and islands. Amphibians are hosts to vast numbers
and an astonishing diversity of parasites, representing all parasitic groups. These include
protozoans, nematodes, acanthocephalans, monogeneans, digeneans, cestodes, leeches and
mites. This impressive parasite diversity can be explained by the fact that amphibians are closely
associated with water, which facilitates parasite transmission and they play the middle role in food
chains - being both predators and prey. Amphibian parasitic fauna is generally poorly understood
and understudied; this is especially true in southern Africa, where over 170 amphibian species have
been identified. This study will show that we discovered a vast diversity of parasites in 22 different
anuran species, from the previously unstudied area.
A large number of parasites were found using morphological, molecular and statistical
approaches and several of them appear to be distinct from all known species and are, most likely,
new to science. During this project 269 specimens of frogs representing 22 species were collected,
dissected and studied for parasites. This research revealed 35 species of metazoan parasites,
including 24 nematode species, two cestode species, three trematodes, three monogeneans, one
acanthocephalan, one mite and one annelid species. The most infected amphibian species were the
common river frog, Amietia delalandii and the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis which harboured
six and five helminth species, respectively. Nematodes were the most common parasites, accounting
for 69% of the faunal community (24 of 35 species). We discovered numerous species that are
morphologically and genetically different in a rather small research region and within only 22 species
of anurans. Understanding and researching host-parasite interactions in nature will help to close the
knowledge gaps in disease and community ecology. Parasites are everywhere, diverse, and
inventive and we believe that incorporating them into basic biological research will be a significant
stride forward for decades to come. | en_US |
