@entity344 are widespread among wild ungulates. Because many of these parasites infect multiple host species, inter-specific interactions among hosts potentially play an important role in parasite transmission dynamics in ungulate communities. In this study, the effects of inter-specific contact on parasitism rates in 11 sympatric African bovids was examined using habitat overlap among species as a measure of cross-species contact rates. Across individual hosts, strongyle @entity2199 abundance increased with increasing numbers of bovid species occupying a habitat. Furthermore, comparative analyses show a positive association between strongyle prevalence and level of habitat overlap across taxa. These findings suggest that among sympatric bovids, contact between species contributes significantly to the transmission of generalist @entity2199 parasites. For a more host-specific parasite group, coccidia, parasite abundance and individual probability of @entity281 declined in hosts living in bovid rich habitats. This pattern may reflect enhanced interspecific competition among parasites in these areas. Finally, similar to strongyle abundance, individual parasite @entity3794 also increased among hosts occupying habitats with higher numbers of bovid species. No association between habitat overlap and parasite @entity3794 was detected at higher taxonomic scales, however, which suggests that contact between host species may not contribute to parasite colonization of new host taxa.

Habitat overlap and XXXX in sympatric African bovids.

@entity281 :: ('MESH:D007239', 'Disease') :: ['infection'] @entity2199 :: ('6239', 'Species') :: ['nematode'] @entity3794 :: ('MESH:D011658', 'Disease') :: ['richness'] @entity344 :: ('MESH:D005767', 'Disease') :: ['Gastrointestinal parasite infections']
@entity344 :: (MESH:D005767,Disease) :: ['gastrointestinal parasitism']
