DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pc866t1x5
title: Host species and age-specific variation on Hepatozoon prevalence and its effect on body condition in two Neotropical crocodiles

description: Many populations of species belonging to the order Crocodilia are
 threatened because of habitat loss and degradation, parasitic diseases,
 illegal trafficking, and indiscriminate hunting. Although several studies
 have revealed that crocodiles, caimans, and alligators are frequently
 infected by Hepatozoon species, the results from studies
 exploring the costs of these apicomplexan parasites on their reptilian
 hosts are still scarce and with inconclusive results. Here, we molecularly
 assessed the prevalence and genetic diversity of Hepatozoon spp. to
 explore the differences in body condition in captive individuals of two
 species of neotropical crocodilians with conservation threats, the
 spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) and the American crocodile
 (Crocodylus acutus). Fourteen percent of spectacled caimans were infected
 by Hepatozoon caimani, whereas no American crocodiles showed infection.
 The prevalence of Hepatozoon in spectacled alligators varied along age,
 where subadult individuals were the most frequently parasitized.
 Surprisingly, the body condition of infected individuals was significantly
 higher than the body condition of uninfected spectacled caimans, which
 suggests greater negative effects of the infection in individuals with
 poor quality. Also, the body condition of subadult individuals was
 significantly higher than the body condition of juveniles of both
 alligator species, likely reflecting differences in the occupancy of
 habitats with higher resource abundance or variations in the nutritional
 values of the diet between these age classes. These outcomes provide
 valuable information on disease ecology for developing conservation
 strategies and the management conservation of wildlife populations of
 these species.
description: # Host species and age-specific variation on Hepatozoon prevalence and its
 effect on body condition in two Neotropical crocodiles
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pc866t1x5](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pc866t1x5) Data showing *Hepatozoon* infection and body condition in two Neotropical crocodiles (*Caiman crocodilus* and *Crocodylus acutus*). ## Description of the data and file structure Data are structured as following: ID: ID of the sampled individual Year: year of sampling, Species: crocodilian species SPRECIES_CODE: species codification for each crocodilian species Locality: Locality of sampling Locality_Code: codification for locality of sampling. 1 = CREA, 2 = CHULLACHAQUI, 3 = SELVA VIVA, 4 = TUMBES Body_mass: in grams, estimated with a digital scale (precision of ± 10 g), Longitud: total length of individuals measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail using a measuring tape (accuracy ± 1mm), SEXO: sex of sampled individual (1 = male, 2 = female) Edad: age of sampled individuals. Codification 1 – 4: 1 = neonate , 2 = juvenile, 3 = subadult, 4 = adult. Codification 6 – 9 for C. acutus: 6 = juvenile I,7 =  juvenile II,8 = subadult, 9 = adult. INFECTION: Hepatozoon infection (0 = uninfected, 1 = infected) LogLong: log transformed total length LogMasa: log transformed body mass Futon_K_bodycond: body condidtion (Fulton Index (K)) calculated following the formula: K = W/TL3 x 104.