Parasitos na Herpetofauna da Caatinga: uma revisão integrativa.

Abstract

The study related to parasite species in an animal population in a given geographic region is essential for understanding the ecology, life cycle, coevolution and parasite-host interactions. Furthermore, parasitism can directly interfere with the life of parasitized organisms, which is a

factor that justifies the search for studies in this area. Although Brazil is considered a mega- diverse country, with around 848 species of reptiles and 1,188 amphibians, there are few studies

in the literature regarding parasitism in these animals. In view of the above, the present study aimed to compile the knowledge about parasitism in the herpetofauna of the Caatinga accumulated over the last 30 years. To this end, an integrative review was carried out, which consists of a method that provides the synthesis of knowledge in a given area of science, allowing the complete understanding of a phenomenon or problem. To search for articles, the Publisher Medline, Google Scholar, Scientific Electronic Library Online and BioOne Digital Library platforms were used, using search strings. “Helminths”, “Helmintos”, “Caatinga”, “Herpetofauna” “Northeast”, “Nordeste”, “Nematodes”, “Nematodes”, “Amphibian”, “Amphibians”, “Parasites”, “Parasites”, “Reptilis” , “Reptiles”, “Lizards”, “Lizards”. To ensure greater accuracy of the review, the PRISMA method was used with adaptations. From the search, screening and selection of works, 106 studies were selected to compose this review. The groups of animals covered in the manuscripts were Largartos, Testudines, Amphisbaenas, Anurans and Serpentes. Based on the data obtained by the selected manuscripts, a prevalence of Nematode parasites is noted, followed by Pentastomids most occurring in the herpetofauna in the periodical samples of this review, becoming the species of lizards, accompanied by anurans, with Amphisbena being the least common group. studied. In view of these results, there is a need for new work that seeks to understand the parasite-host relationship in less studied groups, such as Anfisbena. Furthermore, it is important to consider that works that involve studies of parasitology in herpetofauna, in addition to their ecological importance, provide important information in the field of public health.