{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T05:06:03Z","timestamp":1784610363977,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":60,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779321600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":20,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777593600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Ecology and Evolution"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    The intestinal parasite communities of vertebrates are shaped by complex interactions among biological, environmental, and anthropogenic factors. However, such dynamics remain poorly characterized in endangered the Chinese Alligator (\n                    <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">\n                      <jats:italic>Alligator sinensis<\/jats:italic>\n                    <\/jats:styled-content>\n                    ). Here, we conducted a high\u2010throughput 18S rRNA amplicon survey of intestinal parasites in 149 fecal samples from the critically endangered Chinese alligators, spanning two geographic localities, four feeding regimens, three developmental stages, and 3\u2009months. We identified 1524 eukaryotic parasite OTUs and 6606 nematode OTUs, revealing significant geographic variation in parasite composition, with higher richness in Wuhu than in Xuancheng populations. PERMANOVA further confirmed significant locality\u2010level differences in parasite community structure for both eukaryotic and nematode assemblages. Feeding regimen strongly influenced parasite diversity and community composition, with nematode communities exhibiting particularly pronounced responses, showing the lowest abundance and diversity in alligators maintained on a standardized catfish\u2010carp diet and highest in those fed diverse prey. Eukaryotic parasite richness declined markedly with host age, while nematode diversity showed pronounced depression in August. At finer taxonomic resolution, multiple parasite phyla and genera exhibited dynamic, factor\u2010specific responses to locality, diet, age, and sampling month, highlighting strong ecological filtering effects. Linear Discriminant Analysis Effect Size analysis uncovered specific parasite taxa associated with distinct factors. Our results firstly demonstrate the structure of parasite communities in\n                    <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">\n                      <jats:italic>A. sinensis<\/jats:italic>\n                    <\/jats:styled-content>\n                    , and clarified how they are shaped by interacting ecological and management factors, providing critical baseline data for future research.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ece3.73706","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T13:18:15Z","timestamp":1779369495000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Intestinal Parasite Community Dynamics in the Critically Endangered Chinese Alligator (\n                    <i>Alligator sinensis<\/i>\n                    ): Multifactorial Insights From\n                    <scp>18S rRNA<\/scp>\n                    Amplicon Sequencing"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Mingxia","family":"Ge","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Parasitology Wannan Medical College  Wuhu China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qingquan","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Parasitology Wannan Medical College  Wuhu China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qingyu","family":"Ge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resources, College of Life Sciences Anhui Normal University  Wuhu China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Genjun","family":"Tu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The National Nature Reserve of Chinese Alligator in Anhui  Xuanzhou China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongkang","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The National Nature Reserve of Chinese Alligator in Anhui  Xuanzhou China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pingsi","family":"Yi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The National Nature Reserve of Chinese Alligator in Anhui  Xuanzhou China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongji","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Parasitology Wannan Medical College  Wuhu China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6590-3372","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jinhong","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Parasitology Wannan Medical College  Wuhu China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_10_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2018.0844"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0304-4017(89)90062-9"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/mec.15270"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182022001160"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/aec.12695"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_7_1","volume-title":"ggalluvial: Alluvial Plots in \u2018ggplot2\u2019","author":"Brunson J. C.","year":"2024"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_8_1","article-title":"The Evolution of Age\u2010Specific Resistance to Infectious Disease","volume":"290","author":"Buckingham L. J.","year":"2023","journal-title":"Proceedings. Biological Sciences"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2478\/helm-2024-0022"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/bty560"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nmeth.2604"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Elkin L. A. M.Kay J. J.Higgins et\u00a0al.2021.\u201cAn Aligned Rank Transform Procedure for Multifactor Contrast Tests.\u201dInThe 34th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology Association for Computing Machinery 754\u2013768.","DOI":"10.1145\/3472749.3474784"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpara.2003.11.012"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1590\/1519-6984.289502"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1079\/JOH2005287"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ecy.4001"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens13060443"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/conphys\/coad055"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-018-2936-z"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1365-2656.12352"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1756-0500-7-502"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2017.02073"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/ismeco\/ycaf053"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_24_1","volume-title":"ggpubr: \u2018ggplot2\u2019 Based Publication Ready Plots","author":"Kassambara A.","year":"2024"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/conphys\/cot032"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.138370"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/femsec\/fiaa255"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.14806\/ej.17.1.200"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2010714118"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pt.2020.04.014"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1501193113"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.onehlt.2024.100912"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_33_1","volume-title":"vegan: Community Ecology Package","author":"Oksanen J.","year":"2026"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gecco.2019.e00692"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_35_1","first-page":"316","article-title":"Investigation of \n                     Salmonella enteritidis\n                   Outbreak in Four Kindergartens","volume":"26","author":"Pavlova M.","year":"2018","journal-title":"Le Infezioni in Medicina"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_36_1","volume-title":"patchwork: The Composer of Plots","author":"Pedersen T. 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