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Dung beetles and fecal helminth transmission: patterns, mechanisms and questions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2013

ELIZABETH NICHOLS  and
ANDRÉS GÓMEZ
ELIZABETH NICHOLS*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
ANDRÉS GÓMEZ
Affiliation:
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Ecology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

Dung beetles are detrivorous insects that feed on and reproduce in the fecal material of vertebrates. This dependency on vertebrate feces implies frequent contact between dung beetles and parasitic helminths with a fecal component to their life-cycle. Interactions between dung beetles and helminths carry both positive and negative consequences for successful parasite transmission, however to date there has been no systematic review of dung beetle-helminth interactions, their epidemiological importance, or their underlying mechanisms. Here we review the observational evidence of beetle biodiversity–helminth transmission relationships, propose five mechanisms by which dung beetles influence helminth survival and transmission, and highlight areas for future research. Efforts to understand how anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity may influence parasite transmission must include the development of detailed, mechanistic understanding of the multiple interactions between free-living and parasitic species within ecological communities. The dung beetle–helminth system may be a promising future model system with which to understand these complex relationships.

Keywords

Scarabaeinaedisease ecologyenvironmental changeparasite ecologymacroparasitemicroparasite
Type
Review Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 141 , Issue 5 , April 2014 , pp. 614 - 623
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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