Parasite community structure in sympatric Bornean primates

Area of Science:

• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Parasitology
• Wildlife Health

Background:

• Parasites play crucial roles in ecosystem dynamics, influencing food webs and biodiversity.
• Southeast Asia is a hotspot for zoonotic parasites, with habitat changes impacting wildlife and parasite circulation.
• Understanding wild primate parasites is essential for assessing parasite transmission and zoonotic potential in the region.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize gastrointestinal helminth parasite assemblages in Bornean primates along the Kinabatangan floodplain.
• To investigate parasite diversity, distribution, and host specificity in a community of wild primates.
• To identify potential impacts of habitat disturbance on host-parasite systems.

Main Methods:

• Parasitological analyses of gastrointestinal helminth parasites from Bornean primate communities.
• Utilized infection measures as proxies for parasite diversity and distribution patterns.
• Compared parasite infracommunities between nocturnal and diurnal primate species.

Main Results:

• Most parasite taxa infected multiple primate hosts, indicating potential resilience to habitat disturbance.
• Distinct parasite infracommunities were observed between nocturnal and diurnal primates, linked to phylogenetic and ecological factors.
• Soil-transmitted helminths (whipworm, threadworm, nodule worm) were prevalent across the primate community.

Conclusions:

• Bornean primate parasite assemblages exhibit broad host specificity and differences between diurnal and nocturnal species.
• This research provides new parasite records for several wild primate species, including southern pig-tailed macaques and Western tarsiers.
• Findings contribute to understanding parasite biodiversity and infectious disease ecology in Asian primate communities.