Meeting Abstract
Compared to the blood parasites of mammals and avian hosts, relatively little information is available about the host specificity, prevalence and distribution of blood parasites infecting amphibians and non-avian reptiles. The few available surveys suggest that amphibians and reptiles are commonly infected with a diverse group of blood parasite species including hemoflagellates and apicomplexans. However, currently no information is available on the geographic distribution and host specificity of blood parasite species in amphibian and reptile hosts from the Great Plains region of the United States. To investigate the blood parasites infecting the herpetofauna of Oklahoma, USA, 6 locations in north central Oklahoma and 1 location in southeastern Oklahoma were surveyed for amphibians and reptiles. Over 3 field seasons during 2014 to 2016, 295 amphibians from 6 families and 19 species, and 4 reptiles from 3 families were collected and examined for blood protozoa. A total of 11 blood protozoan species/morphotypes were identified using morphological and/or molecular techniques. In amphibian hosts, 5 species/morphotypes of Trypanosoma and 1 species of Hepatozoon were found infecting the family Ranidae, and 3 species/morphotypes of Trypanosoma were found infecting the family Hylidae. Interestingly, individual amphibians were often infected with multiple species/morphotypes of blood parasites. In addition to the amphibian hosts, 1 species of Haemogregarina was found infecting the red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans, and 1 species of Hepatozoon was found infecting the diamondback water snake, Nerodia rhombifer. This work provides critical data on the diversity, host use, and geographic distribution of blood parasites of amphibians and reptiles from the Great Plains and a starting point for investigations on the biology and ecology of these understudied parasites.
