Influence of Some Environmental Parameters on Some Frog Populations and their Parasitc Fauna

Abstract

Wild animals, including frogs are usually infected with several species of parasites. Frogs are important for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they control populations of insects and secondly they can act as indicator species to the environment. Studies have shown that frogs can harbor many species of parasites. Worldwide, there were numerous researches carried out on frog parasites but few had been reported from Malaysia. From this study, 300 frogs from 14 species were collected from eight study sites: Duttaphrynus melanostictus, Phrynoidis aspera, Hylarana erythraea, H. labialis, H. nigrovittata, Polypedates leucomystax, Fejervarya cancrivora, F. limnocharis, Limnonectes blythii, L. paramacrodon, L. ibanorum, L. ingeri, Microhylabutleri, and Kaloulapulchra. Eleven (11) helminthic parasites (Heterakis spp., H. vesicularis, Trichostrongylus spp., Pharyngodon spp., Ascaris spp., Oswaldocruzia spp., Rhabdias spp.,Glypthelmins staffordi, Diplodiscusm sacculosus, Manodistomum spp., and Macracanthorynchus spp.), eight blood parasites (a rickettsia, Hepatozoon spp.,Haemogregarina spp., Lankesterella spp., Trypanosoma loricatum, T. rotatorium, T. chattoni, and microfilaria) and one protozoa (Nyctotherus spp.) were recorded from frogs. There were correlations between the presence of helminthic parasites and distribution of rainfall, as well as between blood parasites and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) of water.