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Diversity, distribution and changes in communities of fleas on small mammals along the elevational gradient from the Pannonian Plain to the Carpathian Mountains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2020

Ivan Baláž Open the ORCID record for Ivan Baláž [Opens in a new window] ,
Michal Ševčík ,
Filip Tulis ,
Martina Zigová  and
Alexander Dudich
Ivan Baláž*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Trieda A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia
Michal Ševčík
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Trieda A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia
Filip Tulis
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Trieda A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia
Martina Zigová
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Trieda A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia
Alexander Dudich
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Trieda A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia
*
Author for correspondence: Ivan Baláž, E-mail: ibalaz@ukf.sk
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Abstract

The causal chain of parasite–host–environment interactions, the so-called ‘dual parasite environment’, makes studying parasites more complicated than other wild organisms. A sample of 65 282 fleas taken from 336 different locations were analysed for changes in the distribution, diversity and compensation of flea communities found on small mammals along an elevational diversity gradient ranging from the Pannonian Plain to the base of the Carpathian summits. The fleas were divided into four groups, which were derived from changes in abundance and occurrence determined from cluster analysis. They are (1) flea species whose range seems unrelated to any change in elevation; (2) species that avoid high altitudes; (3) a group that can be subdivided into two types: (i) host-specific fleas and (ii) mountains species and (4) species opting for high altitudes on the gradient or preferring lower to middle elevations below 1000 m. Our study showed a unimodal pattern of flea diversity along the elevational gradient. It indicated that seasonality significantly conditions changes in biodiversity and patterns of spatial change along the elevational gradient, with specific flea species influenced by their host, while the impact of environmental conditions is more pronounced in opportunistic flea species.

Keywords

EulipotyphlaRodentiaSiphonapteraunimodal pattern
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 148 , Issue 1 , January 2021 , pp. 63 - 73
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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