Mohd Zain, Siti Nursheena (2008) Endoparasites of rodents in two islands of the straits of Malacca. Malaysian Journal of Science, 27 (3). pp. 123-127. ISSN 1394-3065,
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
An endoparasitic survey of wild rodent populations of two islands, namely Pulau Langkawi and Pulau Jarak, was conducted to determine their biodiversity. Of the total of 13 rats captured, only one rat was trapped from Pulau Jarak. All rodents were identified and examined for endoparasites. These represented three commensal rodent species (Rattus tiomanicus, Rattus rattus diardii, and Rattus exulans), with R. tiomanicus being the most dominant species (84.3%) with the number of males (58.3%) captured being higher than females (41.7%). The rats were analyzed for parasite incidence, prevalence and intensity. The single rodent captured from Pulau Jarak was free from endoparasite infection. Post-mortem examination found high levels of endoparasitic infection in the hosts captured in Pulau Langkawi with the highest incidence in the small intestine, followed by caecum and stomach. Overall, the study showed high prevalence of multiple species of Heligmonellidae (100%) and only one cestode species (Rodentolepis nana). The endoparasite population was also found to be uniquely low in diversity. This study also showed that the present distribution of the rodent population in Langkawi is characteristic of a disturbed habitat and can be attributed to ongoing human activities in the surrounding area. This study provides a much needed baseline for the ecology of a disturbed island habitat. Further studies will shed light on the ecological interactions that influence the endoparasitic population of commensal rodents in the Langkawi archipelago.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Additional Information: | Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Biodiversity, Endoparasite, Rat helminthes, Small mammals, Wild rats |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science > Institute of Biological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Miss Malisa Diana |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Feb 2013 02:52 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Apr 2021 06:39 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/4671 |
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