Data from: Habitat fragmentation alters the properties of a host-parasite network: rodents and their helminths in South-East Asia

1. While the effects of deforestation and habitat fragmentation on
parasite prevalence or richness are well investigated, host–parasite
networks are still understudied despite their importance in understanding
the mechanisms of these major disturbances. Because fragmentation may
negatively impact species occupancy, abundance and co-occurrence, we
predict a link between spatiotemporal changes in habitat and the
architecture of host–parasite networks. 2. For this, we used an extensive
data set on 16 rodent species and 29 helminth species from seven
localities of South-East Asia. We analysed the effects of rapid
deforestation on connectance and modularity of helminth–parasite networks.
We estimated both the degree of fragmentation and the rate of
deforestation through the development of land uses and their changes
through the last 20 to 30 years in order to take into account the dynamics
of habitat fragmentation in our statistical analyses. 3. We found that
rapid fragmentation does not affect helminth species richness per se but
impacts host–parasite interactions as the rodent–helminth network becomes
less connected and more modular. 4. Our results suggest that parasite
sharing among host species may become more difficult to maintain with the
increase of habitat disturbance.