Publications by authors named "Paulo Mejia"
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on Branchiura parasites in fish from the Araguari River, examining their distribution, interactions, and preferences based on the fish's habitat and surface type.
- Novel findings highlighted how the attachment structures of these parasites related to the fish's scaliness and body morphology.
- Out of 558 fish, 109 exhibited parasitism, showing that parasites with suction discs preferred fish with smaller or no scales, while hook-based parasites favored larger-scaled hosts.
Bats are the second-most diverse group of mammals in the world, and bat flies are their main parasites. However, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding these antagonistic interactions, especially since diverse factors such as seasonality and host sex can affect their network structures. Here, we explore the influence of such factors by comparing species richness and composition of bat flies on host bats, as well as specialization and modularity of bat-bat fly interaction networks between seasons and adult host sexes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReptiles and amphibians are exceptional hosts for different ectoparasites, including mites and ticks. In this study, we investigated tick infestations on reptiles and amphibians trapped in Central Amazonia, and also assessed the presence of rickettsial infections in the collected ticks. From September 2016 to September 2019, 385 reptiles (350 lizards, 20 snakes, 12 tortoises, and three caimans) and 120 amphibians (119 anurans and one caecilian) were captured and examined for ectoparasites.
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