Host/parasite postfire responses: the helminths of Apodernus sylvaticus (Rodentia, Muridae) as bioindicators of its movements after fire

Abstract

The close relationships between helminth parasites (trematodes, cestodes, nematodes and acanthocephalans) and their hosts are able to yield a variety of information. Likewise, environmental characteristics exert a marked influence on both the host communities and on those stages of the helminth biological cycles thaf develop in the externa1 environment (i.e. eggs, larvae). The present paper investigates two Mediterranean ecosystems affected by fire, with the aim of determining the value of the helminths of a typical recolonizing small mammal (Apodemus sylvaticus) as bioindicators of host movements after fire. For this purpose, an index of similarity is presented to reflect helminth species’importance in both burnt and control areas.