Brazilian Journal of Biology https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.187881 ISSN 1519-6984 (Print) Original Article ISSN 1678-4375 (Online) Variation in the prevalence and abundance of acanthocephalans in brown-nosed coatis Nasua nasua and crab-eating foxes Cerdocyon thous in the Brazilian Pantanal A. P. N. Gomesa,b, A. Maldonado Júniora*, R. C. Bianchic, J. G. R. Souzaa, P. S. D’Andreaa, M. E. Gompperd and N. Olifiersa,e aLaboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestre Reservatórios, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz – IOC, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – FIOCRUZ, Avenida Brasil, 4365, Manguinhos, CEP 21045-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil bPrograma de Pós-graduação em Biologia Parasitária, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz – IOC, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – FIOCRUZ, Avenida Brasil, 4365, Manguinhos, CEP 21045-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil cLaboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinária, Departamento de Biologia Aplicada à Agropecuária, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” – UNESP, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n, CEP 14884-900, Jaboticabal, SP, Brasil dSchool of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, 302 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO 65211, United States of America eUniversidade Veiga de Almeida – UVA, Rua Ibituruna, 108, Maracanã, CEP 20271-020, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil *e-mail:
[email protected] Received: November 15, 2017 – Accepted: February 20, 2018 – Distributed: August 31, 2019 (With 2 figures) Abstract Host infection by parasites is influenced by an array of factors, including host and environmental features. We investigated the relationship between host sex, body size and age, as well as seasonality on infection patterns by acanthocephalan in coatis (Procyonidae: Nasua nasua) and in crab-eating foxes (Canidae: Cerdocyon thous) from the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands.