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Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in the haemoparasite community of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) in four montane wadis in the St. Katherine Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, April 2016
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Title
Long-term spatiotemporal stability and dynamic changes in the haemoparasite community of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) in four montane wadis in the St. Katherine Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, April 2016
DOI 10.1186/s13071-016-1471-z
Pubmed ID
Authors

Mohammed Alsarraf, Małgorzata Bednarska, Eman M. E. Mohallal, Ewa J. Mierzejewska, Jolanta Behnke-Borowczyk, Samy Zalat, Francis Gilbert, Renata Welc-Falęciak, Agnieszka Kloch, Jerzy M. Behnke, Anna Bajer

Abstract

Long-term field studies of parasite communities are rare but provide a powerful insight into the ecological processes shaping host-parasite interactions. The aim of our study was to monitor long-term trends in the haemoparasite communities of spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) and to identify the principal factors responsible for changes over a 12 year period. To this end we sampled four semi-isolated populations of mice (n = 835) in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 in four dry montane valleys (wadis) located in the Sinai Massif, Egypt. Overall 76.2 % of spiny mice carried at least one of the five haemoparasite genera (Babesia, Bartonella, Haemobartonella, Hepatozoon, Trypanosoma) recorded in the study. Prevalence of haemoparasites varied significantly between the sites with the highest overall prevalence in Wadi Tlah and the lowest in W. El Arbaein, and this changed significantly with time. In the first two surveys there was little change in prevalence, but by 2008, when the first signs of a deepening drought in the region had become apparent, prevalence began to drift downwards, and by 2012 prevalence had fallen to the lowest values recorded from all four sites over the entire 12-year period. The overall mean species richness was 1.2 ± 0.03, which peaked in 2004 and then dropped by more than 50 % by 2012. Species richness was highest among mice from Wadi Tlah and peaked in age class 2 mice (young adults). Site was the most significant factor affecting the prevalence of individual parasite species, with Trypanosoma acomys and Hepatozoon sp. occurring mainly in two wadis (W. Tlah & W. Gharaba). In four of the five genera recorded in the study we observed a significant drop in prevalence or/and abundance since 2004, the exception being Hepatozoon sp. During the 12-year-long period of study in the Sinai, we observed dynamic changes and possibly even cycles of prevalence and abundance of infections which differed depending on parasite species. Although the exact reasons cannot be identified at this time, we hypothesize that the effects of a 15-year-long scarcity of rainfall in the local environment and a fall in host densities over the period of study may have been responsible for a drop in transmission rates, possibly by a negative impact on vector survival.

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X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 5 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 38 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Germany 1 3%
Unknown 37 97%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 6 16%
Student > Master 4 11%
Student > Bachelor 4 11%
Lecturer 2 5%
Student > Doctoral Student 2 5%
Other 6 16%
Unknown 14 37%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 9 24%
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine 4 11%
Environmental Science 3 8%
Medicine and Dentistry 3 8%
Nursing and Health Professions 1 3%
Other 2 5%
Unknown 16 42%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 20 April 2016.
All research outputs
#13,974,021
of 22,860,626 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#2,654
of 5,470 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#155,294
of 300,819 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#87
of 193 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,860,626 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 37th percentile – i.e., 37% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,470 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one is in the 48th percentile – i.e., 48% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 300,819 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 46th percentile – i.e., 46% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 193 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 51% of its contemporaries.