Basic and Applied Herpetology 31 (2017) 69-75 Helminth parasitizing Iberolacerta cyreni (Müller et Hellmich, 1937) from Gredos Mountains, Iberian Peninsula Vicente Roca* Departament de Zoologia, Facultat de Ciències Biològiques, Universitat de València. C/Dr. Moliner, 50, 46100 Burjassot (Spain). *Correspondence: Phone: +34 963544606, Fax: +34 963543049, E-mail: [email protected] Received: 19 September 2017; returned for review: 16 October 2017; accepted 3 November 2017. A survey of the helminth communities of a population of Iberolacerta cyreni (MÜller et Hellmich, 1937), a small lizard endemic to Sistema Central (Iberian Peninsula), was conducted to determine the prevalence, abundance and species diversity of parasites of these reptiles. Four species of hel- minths were found, one trematode, Plagiorchis molini Lent et Freitas, 1940, one cestode, Nemato- taenia tarentolae LÓpez-Neyra, 1944, and two nematodes, Skrjabinelazia sp. and Spauligodon car- bonelli Roca García-Adell, 1988. Helminth infracommunities of I. cireny showed very low values of abundance and species richness and diversity, being similar to other European lizards. The para- sites found seem to have no influence on the conservation status of the host species in its natural habitat. Key words: conservation; helminths; Iberian Peninsula; lizards. Iberolacerta cyreni (Müller et Hellmich, These lizards are typically linked to 1937) is an endemic lacertid lizard from high mountain rocks. They are generalist Gredos and Guadarrama Mountains in feeders eating many insects and other ar- Central-West and Central Iberian Peninsu- thropods. They use both sit-and-wait, and la (Carretero et al., 2014). Morphological active foraging strategies (Martín Sal- characteristics, structure of chromosomes, vador, 1993). and electrophoretic data (Arribas, 1996), Iberolacerta cyreni is considered as a as well as recent data from mitochondrial threatened species (Pérez-Mellado et al., and nuclear DNA confirm the specific sta- 2009). The destruction of its high mountain tus of the lizard populations from this geo- habitats, and the vulnerable nature of cer- graphical area (Martín, 2009). It seems tain populations derived from the isola- that the origin of this lizard (prior to the tion regime among each other, are the Pleistocene glacial oscillation) was fa- main threats (Martín, 2009). voured by the complex orography of these Concerning parasites, haemogregarines mountains, acting as speciation cores and have been found infecting erythrocytes refuge of the species (Crochet et al., 2004). from lizard populations in Guadarrama DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11160/bah.89 Supplementary material available online ROCA (Amo et al., 2004; Jovani et al., 2004), but the conservation of the host species. there is no data on parasitic helminths of Materials and Methods any population of this species. As lizards living in high-altitude habi- Study Area tats, we would expect a poor helminth The area of the study, Sierra de Gredos community for I. cyreni. However, there (40° 15’ N, 5° 13’ O), are a group of moun- are not conclusive results regarding the tains belonging to the Sistema Central, influence of altitude in relation to the para- located at the West-Centre of the Iberian site infection in reptiles. For instance, Ma- Peninsula. It consists of granitic rocks and ia et al. (2016) found a negative correlation a variety of vegetation cover, changing between prevalence and altitude in according to the altitude, with a typical Pristurus rupestris (Gekkonidae) from Oman, high mountain climate (Delgado-Sánchez, Arabia. Low richness of the helminth com- 1996). munity has also been recorded from a population of Mabuya dorsivittata Host samples (Scincidae) in Itatiaia, a high-altitude habi- Samples correspond to 23 specimens of tat in Rio de Janeiro State (Rocha et al., I. cyreni stored in the collection of the Labora- 2003). Nevertheless, populations of Scelo- tory of Animal Parasitology of the Depart- porus occidentalis (Iguanidae) from San Gabri- ment of Zoology, University of Valencia el Mountains (montane, ca. 1584 m eleva- (Spain) (see collection numbers in the Sup- tion, Los Angeles, California) showed plementary Material, Section S1). The greater prevalence of infection of gastroin- specimens were caught in the Sierra de testinal nematodes than populations from Gredos in the years 1985 (four hosts), 1986 Puente Hills (lowland, ca. 150 m elevation) (six hosts), 1987 (six hosts) and 1988 (seven (Goldberg et al., 1998). Additionally, it hosts), and the samples were sent to our seems that digestive parasite nematodes laboratory, following the necropsy of dead do not play a major role in setting altitudi- hosts. The digestive tract, heart, lungs, and nal distribution limits for Liolaemus liz- liver were removed, opened, and placed in ards in the central Chilean cordillera Ringer solution for examination. (Carothers Jaksic, 2001). Analysis of parasites Hence, the objective of this study was to investigate for the first time the hel- The parasites were preserved in 70% minth fauna of the host species I. cyreni. alcohol and are deposited in the collection More specifically, this study aimed: (1) to of the Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, know what kind of helminths parasitize Department of Zoology of the University this lizard; (2) to determine the patterns of of Valencia (Spain) (see collection numbers helminth community richness and diversi- in the Supplementary Material, Section ty; (3) to compare these patterns with S2). Now they have been studied accord- those already described for other allied ing to standard techniques (Hornero, lizards; (4) to take into account the para- 1991). Parasites were identified, when pos- sites among the issues to be considered for sible, to the species level and the number 70 PARASITES OF IBEROLACERTA CYRENI Table 1: Parameters Helminth species Prevalence Intensity of Abundance of infection of hel- (%) infection (range) (range) minths in Iberolacerta Trematoda cyreni. Plagiorchis molini 9 1.5 ± 0.7 (1 – 2) 0.1 ± 0.5 (0 – 2) Cestoda Nematotaenia tarentolae 13 1 ± 0 (1 – 1) 0.1 ± 0.3 (0 – 1) Nematoda Skrjabinelazia sp. 9 1 ± 0 (1 – 1) 0.1 ± 0.3 (0 – 1) Spauligodon carbonelli 52 3.3 ± 6.9 (1 – 25) 1.7 ± 5.1 (0 – 25) and location of individual parasites of are given in Table 1. The average number each species per host were recorded. Di- of parasite species per lizard was 0.8 ± 0.6 versity and infection parameters described (0 – 2) and the maximum number of para- in Bush et al. (1997) were used to define the site taxa found in any individual lizard ecology of the parasites. Thus, prevalence never exceeded two. The helminths en- is defined as the number of hosts parasi- countered had a global prevalence (all tized divided by the total number of hosts taxa) of 74% (17/23). While the mean inten- sampled; mean intensity, as the total num- sity of infection (all taxa) was 2.8 ± 6.2 (1 – ber of helminths divided by the number of 27), the mean abundance (all taxa) was 2.1 infected hosts; mean abundance, as the ± 5.5 (0 – 27). The value of Brillouin’s index total number of worms divided by the to- diversity was 0.03 ± 0.08 (0 – 0.35). Propor- tal number of hosts sampled. Brillouin’s tion of hosts with 0 or 1 helminth species index was used for calculating diversity, was 91%. according to Magurran (2004). Discussion Results The trematode P. molini, which is mainly The host I. cyreni was infected with four characterized by the extension of the vitel- species of helminths (one trematode, one laria (Roca Navarro, 1983), was previ- cestode and two nematodes, see Table 1). ously found in Iberian Peninsula parasitiz- All the helminths were found in the diges- ing different species of lizards, such as tive tract; the nematode Skrjabinelazia sp. Podarcis muralis, Lacerta schreiberi or Zootoca in the stomach, the trematode Plagiorchis vivipara, all of them living in high mountains molini and the cestode Nematotaenia taren- and linked to humid environments tolae in the small intestine and the nematode (García-Adell Roca, 1988; Roca Fer- Spauligodon carbonelli (but see discussion) in ragut, 1989; Sanchis et al., 2000), which are the large intestine. Of the species found, S. adequate for the development of the life carbonelli was the most common, with 52% of cycle of this parasite. So, it is not surpris- all hosts infected. Detailed infection pa- ing the finding of this trematode in the rameters for individual species of parasite lizard I. cireny, as this host shares the ecologi- 71 ROCA Geographical Brillouin’s Table 2: Compari- Host species Reference distribution index son of values of Iberian Peninsula Brillouin’s index of diversity of several Iberolacerta cyreni Gredos 0.03 Present study continental Europe- an lacertid lizards. Podarcis bocagei NW Portugal 0 GaldÓn et al., 2006 Podarcis carbonelli NW Portugal 0.001 GaldÓn et al., 2006 Zootoca vivipara Pyrenees 0.003 Sanchis et al., 2000 Caucasian Darevskia rudis NE Anatolia 0.01 Roca et al., 2016a Darevskia parvula NE Anatolia 0.01 Roca et al., 2016b Other Darevskia spp. NE Anatolia 0 Roca et al., 2016b cal characteristics with those other hosts morph” with reduced morphological traits quoted (Martín, 2009). resembling more closely the males of the The cestode N. tarentolae is a species with sister genus Skrjabinodon than Spauligo- a wider range of distribution, which has don maj or males. Spauligodon carbonelli is one been previously found in several lizard of the species with “major” and “minor” hosts in different ecological conditions, forms (Jorge et al., 2014). It usually infects including habitats of high mountains lacertid lizards sympatric with I. cyreni, (García-Adell Roca, 1988; Roca Fer- such as Podarcis hispanica, P. bocagei and P. ragut, 1989). carbonelli (GaldÓn et al., 2006). So, it is prob- As only females were found, the speci- able that males found here belong to the mens of Sk rjabinelazia were not exactly species S.