Gastrointestinal Parasite Community and Phenotypic Plasticity in Native and Introduced Alien Lagomorpha.

The Convention on Biological Diversity classifies "Invasive Alien Species" as those whose introduction and spread represents a threat for biodiversity. Introduction of alien pathogens, including parasites, is one of the main consequences of the introduction of invasive alien species. The objective of this work was to assess the parasite community composition in native lagomorphs and ) in sympatric and non-sympatric conditions with an alien lagomorph (), and to evaluate the phenotypic traits of exotic parasites in such conditions. We firstly describe the characteristics of the parasite community in the different host species (richness, prevalence, abundance and intensity), and, secondly, the phenotypic traits of the observed parasite species in each host. Nine helminths were reported on: eight nematodes (, , , , , , , and sp.) and one unidentified cestode. In addition, exotic parasites showed significantly different phenotypic plasticity after spillover from to , whereas endemic parasite species were not isolated in the alien Our results highlight that the community of autochthonous and allochthonous Lagomorpha in northwestern Italy represents an extremely interesting system for modelling ecological and evolutionary interactions between parasites and their hosts.