Parasite-Host Relationship Between Gray Red-Backed Vole And Their Intestinal Parasites In Northeast Regions

The host-parasite relationship is a key point in the study on evolutionary history and distribution pattern of wildlife. A number of studies suggested that vicariant events generated by the climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene have promoted intra- and interspecific divergence of Rodents, supporting the hypothesis of multiple glacial refugia for mammals. The change of parasitism relationship might be caused by historic habitat fragmentation of ice covered area. Some researchers from Northern Europe indicated a co-evolution phenomenon between parasites and host in Palaearctic. The cover of glacier forced many rodents species migrated to south area with parasites, and infected new parasites in glacial refugia. The co-evolution study of parasite-host is significant to reveal species evolutionary routes and for biodiversity conservation.In order to provide a gap analysis, during 2008-2010, we investigated the parasites of Gray Red-backed Vole(Clethrionomys rufocanus) in 4 regions of Northeast China. The results showed that, in total 53 voles 7 groups of parasite, the parasite rate was different among 4 regions, with different distributions and dominances of the parasites in different regions. Such as:Aspiculuris sp., only in Liangshui of Heilongjiang; Hymenolepis sp.,only in Huangnihe of Jilin; Heligmosomoides sp. and Catenotaenia sp.in 3 regions of Jilin, but absent in Heilongjiang; while Syphacia sp., Heligmosomum sp., Paranoplocephala sp.were found in all 4 regions. The parasitic rate in adult gray red-backed vole is higher than that in subadult individuals at a significant level, but there is no significant difference for the parasitic rate in male and female individuals. In Shangmachang of Jilin, the dominant was Syphacia sp, with the relative abundance of 41%. Both in Huangnihe of Jilin and Liangshui of Heilongjiang, the dominant was Heligmosomum sp..