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.

1. 尽管森林砍伐与生境破碎化对寄生虫感染率或物种丰富度的影响已得到广泛研究，但宿主-寄生虫网络（host–parasite networks）的相关研究仍未得到充分开展，尽管其对于解析上述重大干扰的作用机制具有重要意义。由于生境破碎化可能对物种的占有率、丰度及共存产生负面影响，我们推测生境的时空变化与宿主-寄生虫网络的结构之间存在关联。
2. 为此，我们采用了来自东南亚7个采样点的大规模数据集，涵盖16种啮齿类（rodent）与29种寄生蠕虫（helminth）。我们分析了快速森林砍伐对啮齿类-寄生蠕虫网络的连接度与模块化程度的影响。为将生境破碎化的动态变化纳入统计分析范畴，我们通过梳理近20至30年间的土地利用开发及其变迁情况，对生境破碎化程度与森林砍伐速率进行了量化评估。
3. 研究结果显示，快速的生境破碎化本身并不会改变寄生蠕虫的物种丰富度，但会对宿主-寄生虫互作产生影响：啮齿类-寄生蠕虫网络的连接度下降，模块化程度上升。
4. 本研究结果表明，随着生境干扰程度加剧，宿主物种间的寄生虫共享或将更难维持。