Morphological phylogeny of the bat genus Platyrrhinus Saussure, 1860 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with the description of four new species / Paul M. Velazco.

n.s. no.105(2005)

Bat ticks of the Genus Argas (Ixodoidea, Argasidae) :

v.37:no.22(1955)

The sheath-tailed bat of the Palau and Marshall Islands [by] Colin Campbell Sanborn.

v.31:no.8(1947)

Epidemiological traits of the malaria-like parasite Polychromophilus murinus in the Daubenton¿s bat Myotis daubentonii.

BackgroundThe great diversity of bat haemosporidians is being uncovered with the help of molecular tools. Yet most of these studies provide only snapshots in time of the parasites discovered. Polychromophilus murinus, a malaria-like blood parasite, specialised on temperate-zone bats is a species that is being `rediscovered¿. This study describes the infection dynamics over time and between host sex and age classes.MethodsFor three years we followed the members of three breeding colonies of Myotis daubentonii in Western Switzerland and screened them for the prevalence and parasitemia of P. murinus using both molecular tools and traditional microscopy. In order to identify more susceptible classes of hosts, we measured, sexed and aged all individuals. During one year, we additionally measured body temperature and haematocrit values.ResultsJuvenile bats demonstrated much higher parasitemia than any other age class sampled, suggesting that first exposure to the parasite is very early in life during which infections are also at their most intense. Moreover, in subadults there was a clear negative correlation between body condition and intensity of infection, whereas a weak positive correlation was observed in adults. Neither body temperature, nor haematocrit, two proxies used for pathology, could be linked to intensities of infection.ConclusionIf both weaker condition and younger age are associated with higher infection intensity, then the highest selection pressure exerted by P. murinus should be at the juvenile stage. Confusion over the identities and nomenclature of malarial-like parasites requires that molecular barcodes are coupled to accurate morphological descriptions.

Response of bat species to sylvo-pastoral abandonment

We assessed the effect of abandonment of sylvo-pastoral practices in chestnut orchards (Castanea sativa) on bats in southern Switzerland to determine practical recommendations for bat conservation. We compared bat species richness and foraging activities between traditionally managed and unmanaged chestnut orchards, testing the hypothesis that managed orchards provide better foraging opportunities and harbour more bat species. Echolocation calls of foraging bats were sampled simultaneously at paired sites of managed and unmanaged orchards using custom made recorders. Vegetation structure and aerial insect availability were sampled at the recording sites and used as explanatory variables in the model. In a paired sampling design, we found twice the number of bat species (12) and five times higher total foraging activity in the managed chestnut orchards compared to the unmanaged ones. Bat species with low flight manoeuvrability were 14 times more common in managed orchards, whereas bats with medium to high manoeuvrability were only 5 times more common than in abandoned orchards. The vegetation structure was less dense in managed orchards. However, management did not affect relative insect abundance. Bats primarily visited the most open orchards, free of undergrowth. As a result of restricted access into the overgrown forests, the abandonment of chestnut orchards leads to a decline in bat species richness and foraging activities. Continued management of chestnut orchards to maintain an open structure is important for the conservation of endangered bat species in the southern Swiss Alps.

Surveillance for European bat lyssavirus in Swiss bats.

Most countries in Western Europe are currently free of rabies in terrestrial mammals. Nevertheless, rabies remains a residual risk to public health due to the natural circulation of bat-specific viruses, such as European bat lyssaviruses (EBLVs). European bat lyssavirus types 1 and 2 (EBLV-1 and EBLV-2) are widely distributed throughout Europe, but little is known of their true prevalence and epidemiology. We report that only three out of 837 brains taken from bats submitted to the Swiss Rabies Centre between 1976 and 2009 were found by immunofluorescence (FAT) to be positive for EBLVs. All three positive cases were in Myotis daubentoni, from 1992, 1993 and 2002. In addition to this passive surveillance, we undertook a targeted survey in 2009, aimed at detecting lyssaviruses in live bats in Switzerland. A total of 237 bats of the species M. daubentoni, Myotis myotis, Eptesicus serotinus and Nyctalus noctula were captured at different sites in western Switzerland. Oropharyngeal swabs and blood from each individual were analysed by RT-PCR and rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT), respectively. RNA corresponding to EBLV-2 was detected from oropharyngeal swabs of a single M. daubentoni bat, but no infectious virus was found. Molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed that the corresponding sequence was closely related to the other EBLV-2 sequences identified in previous rabies isolates from Swiss bats (particularly to that found at Geneva in 2002). Three M. daubentoni bats were found to be seropositive by RFFIT. In conclusion, even though the prevalence is low in Switzerland, continuous management and surveillance are required to assess the potential risk to public health.

The effect of host social system on parasite population genetic structure: comparative population genetics of two ectoparasitic mites and their bat hosts.

BACKGROUND: The population genetic structure of a parasite, and consequently its ability to adapt to a given host, is strongly linked to its own life history as well as the life history of its host. While the effects of parasite life history on their population genetic structure have received some attention, the effect of host social system has remained largely unstudied. In this study, we investigated the population genetic structure of two closely related parasitic mite species (Spinturnix myoti and Spinturnix bechsteini) with very similar life histories. Their respective hosts, the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) and the Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii) have social systems that differ in several substantial features, such as group size, mating system and dispersal patterns. RESULTS: We found that the two mite species have strongly differing population genetic structures. In S. myoti we found high levels of genetic diversity and very little pairwise differentiation, whereas in S. bechsteini we observed much less diversity, strongly differentiated populations and strong temporal turnover. These differences are likely to be the result of the differences in genetic drift and dispersal opportunities afforded to the two parasites by the different social systems of their hosts. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that host social system can strongly influence parasite population structure. As a result, the evolutionary potential of these two parasites with very similar life histories also differs, thereby affecting the risk and evolutionary pressure exerted by each parasite on its host.

Differential species-specific ectoparasitic mite intensities in two intimately coexisting sibling bat species: resource-mediated host attractiveness or parasite specialization?

1. The mechanisms underlying host choice strategies by parasites remain poorly understood. We address two main questions: (i) do parasites prefer vulnerable or well-fed hosts, and (ii) to what extent is a parasite species specialized towards a given host species? 2. To answer these questions, we investigated, both in the field and in the lab, a host-parasite system comprising one ectoparasitic mite (Spinturnix myoti) and its major hosts, two sibling species of bats (Myotis myotis and M blythii), which coexist intimately in colonial nursery roosts. We exploited the close physical associations between host species in colonial roosts as well as naturally occurring annual variation in food abundance to investigate the relationships between parasite intensities and (i) host species and (ii) individual nutritional status. 3. Although horizontal transmission of parasites was facilitated by the intimate aggregation of bats within their colonial clusters, we found significant interspecific differences in degree of infestation throughout the 6 years of the study, with M. myotis always more heavily parasitized than M. blythii. This pattern was replicated in a laboratory experiment in which any species-specific resistance induced by exploitation of different trophic niches in nature was removed. 4. Within both host species, S. myoti showed a clear preference for individuals with higher nutritional status. In years with high resource abundance, both bat hosts harboured more parasites than in low-resource years, although the relative difference in parasite burden across species was maintained. This pattern of host choice was also replicated in the laboratory. When offered a choice, parasites always colonized better-fed individuals. 5. These results show first that host specialization in our study system occurred. Second, immediate parasite choice clearly operated towards the selection of hosts in good nutritional state.

Genetic survey of "spinturnix sp" (Acari, Mesostigmata) and their bat hosts in Western Palearctic

SUMMARY : The coevolution between two intimately associated organisms, like host and parasite, is a widely investigated theme in evolutionary biology. Recently, the use of genetic data in the study of host-parasite systems evidences that the genetic information from some parasites can complement genetic data from their hosts and thus may help to better understand their host's evolutionary history. Phylogenetic and population genetic aspects of bat parasites have been poorly investigated. Spinturnicid mites are highly specialized ectoparasites, exclusively associated with bats and therefore represent an ideal model to extant our knowledge on bat and parasite biology and on their coevolutionary history. In this thesis, I developed several molecular markers (mitochondrial DNA) to compare the genetic patterns of Spinturnix mites with their bat hosts at different levels. The molecular co-phylogeny between Spinturnix sp. and their bat hosts suggests a partial cospeciation and the occurrence of failure to speciate events and multiple host switches. Thus, Spinturnix mites do not exactly mirror the phylogenetic pattern of their hosts, despite their intimate association. Similar roosting habits of the hosts seem to promote host switches between different species, as far as ecological conditions are favourable. The phylogeographic study of the Maghrebian bat M. punicus in the Mediterranean area confirms the presence of M. punicus in North Africa, Corsica and Sardinia and highlights that islands and mainland are genetically highly divergent. The comparison between the parasitic mite S. myoti and the Maghrebian bat suggests that the phylogeographic pattern of the mite is moulded by its host, with open water as main barrier for host and parasite dispersal. Moreover, the unique presence of a European S. myoti lineage on M. punicus from Corsica strongly suggests the former presence of mouse-eared bats (M. myotis and/or M. blythii) in Corsica. By highlighting the probable presence of a nowadays locally extinct host species, S. myoti may represent a good proxy for inferring complex evolutionary history of bat hosts. Finally, population genetic surveys of S. myoti and S. bechsteinii suggest that these mites benefit from close contacts between individuals during the mating season and/or hibernation to disperse among remote colonies. The contrasted genetic patterns of these two distinct bat-mite systems evidence that bat social structure is a determinant factor of the genetic structure of mite populations. Altogether, this PhD thesis demonstrates the usefulness of parasites to gather information about their bat hosts. In addition, my results illustrate how different ecological and biological characteristics of bat species allow the emergence of a surprising diversity in the genetic patterns of the parasites, which may contribute to the diversification and speciation of parasites. RESUME : La co-évolution entre deux organismes intimement liés, comme un parasite et son hôte, fait partie des questions largement étudiées en biologie évolutive. Récemment, l'utilisation de données génétique dans l'étude des interactions hôte-parasite a montré que l'information génétique de certains parasites peut compléter les données génétiques de l'hôte et ainsi peut éclairer l'histoire évolutive de leur hôte. Très peu études ont étudié les interactions entre les chauves-souris et leurs parasites d'un point de vue moléculaire. Les acariens du genre Spinturnix sont des ectoparasites très spécialisés exclusivement associés aux chauves-souris. Ils représentent donc un model idéal pour élargir nos connaissances tant sur l'écologie des parasites de chauves-souris que sur leur coévolution. Durant cette thèse, plusieurs marqueurs moléculaires (ADN mitochondrial) ont été développés pour ainsi comparer la distribution de la variation génétique des parasites du genre Spinturnix avec celle de leurs hôtes, et ceci à différents niveaux. Tout d'abord, la co-phylogénie moléculaire entre les espèces de Spinturnix et les leurs hôtes révèle une co-spéciation partielle ainsi que la présence d'événement de non spéciation et de transferts horizontaux. Ces parasites ne reflètent donc pas entièrement l'histoire évolutive de leurs hôtes, malgré leurs intimes associations. La cohabitation de plusieurs espèces de chauves-souris dans un même gîte permet aux parasites un transfert entre différentes espèces, atténuant ainsi leur degré de co-spéciation. Deuxièmement, l'étude phylogéographique du marin du Maghreb dans le bassin Méditerranéen confirme sa présence en Afrique du Nord, en Corse et en Sardaigne. La comparaison avec un de ses parasites S. myoti suggère que la répartition génétique de S. myoti est façonnée par celle de leurs hôtes, avec les étendues d'eau comme barrière principale tant à la dispersion de l'hôte que de son parasite. De plus, la présence unique d'une lignée européenne de ces parasites sur des marins du Maghreb de Corse suggère fortement la présence du grand ou petit marin en Corse dans le passé. En reflétant la présence potentielle à un endroit donné d'une espèce de chauve-souris actuellement disparue, S. myoti peut représenter une bonne alternative pour comprendre l'histoire évolutive complexe des chauves-souris. Finalement, l'étude des structures génétiques des populations des parasites S. myoti et S. bechsteinii suggère que les contacts corporels entre chauves-souris durant la saison de reproduction ou l'hibernation peuvent permettre la dispersion des parasites entre des colonies éloignées géographiquement. La différence de structure génétique entre ces deux associations particulières montre que la structure génétique des populations de parasites dépend fortement des traits d'histoire de vie de son hôte. Dans l'ensemble, cette thèse démontre l'importance des parasites pour amener des informations sur leurs hôtes, les chauves-souris. Elle illustre aussi comment les différences écologique et biologique des différentes espèces de chauves-souris peuvent amener une étonnante diversité de structure génétique au sein de populations de parasites, ce qui peut peut-être contribuer à la diversification et à la spéciation des parasites.

Eimeria peltocephali n. sp., (Apicomplexa:Eimeriidae) from the Freshwater Turtle Peltocephalus dumerilianus (Chelonia:Pelomusidae) and Eimeria molossi n. sp., from the Bat, Molossus ater (Mammalia:Chiroptera)

The oocyst is described of Eimeria peltocephali n.sp. from faeces of the freshwater turtle Peltocephalus dumerilianus from Barcelos, State of Amazonas, Brazil. Sporulation is exogenous and fully developed oocysts are elongate, ellipsoidal or cylindrical, frequently curved to a banana-shape, 54.4 x19.1 (37.5 - 68.7 x 18.7-20.0 µm), shape-index 2.8 (1.8 -3.9). The oocyst wall is a single thin, colourless layer about 1 µm thick, with no micropyle. There is a bulky oocyst residuum, at first spherical to ellipsoidal, 19 x 16 (16. 2 -26.2 x 16 - 21.5µm) , but becoming dispersed on maturation. There are no polar bodies. The sporocysts, 19.1 x 6.8 ( 17.5 -21.2 x 6.2 -7.5 µm), shape- index 2.8 (2.3 -3.2), are usually disposed in pairs at each end of the oocyst, and bear an inconspicuous Stieda body in the form of a flat cap. The sporozoites are elongate and slightly curved around the residuum. No refractile bodies were seen. Eimeria molossi n.sp., is described from the molossid bat Molossus ater. Sporulation is exogenous and the mature oocysts are predominantly broadly ellipsoidal, 23.4 x 17.5 (18-30 x 15-22.5 µm), shape-index 1.3 (1-1.6). The oocyst wall is about 2 µm thick, and of three layers: an inner thin, colourless one and two outer layers which are thicker, yellowish-brown, prominently striated and in close apposition. There is no micropyle or oocyst residuum, but one and occasionally two polar bodies are usually present. Sporocysts are ellipsoidal, 10.2 x 7.5 (10-12.5 x 7.5 µm), shape-index 1.4 (1.3-1.7) with an inconspicuous Stieda body. Endogenous stages are described in the epithelial cells of the small intestine

Ultrastructural, Antigenic and Physicochemical Characterization of the Mojuí dos Campos (Bunyavirus) Isolated from Bat in the Brazilian Amazon Region

The Mojuí dos Campos virus (MDCV) was isolated from the blood of an unidentified bat (Chiroptera) captured in Mojuí dos Campos, Santarém, State of Pará, Brazil, in 1975 and considerated to be antigenically different from other 102 arboviruses belonging to several antigenic groups isolated in the Amazon region or another region by complement fixation tests. The objective of this work was to develop a morphologic, an antigenic and physicochemical characterization of this virus. MDCV produces cytopathic effect in Vero cells, 24 h post-infection (p.i), and the degree of cellular destruction increases after a few hours. Negative staining electron microscopy of the supernatant of Vero cell cultures showed the presence of coated viral particles with a diameter of around 98 nm. Ultrathin sections of Vero cells, and brain and liver of newborn mice infected with MDCV showed an assembly of the viral particles into the Golgi vesicles. The synthesis kinetics of the proteins for MDCV were similar to that observed for other bunyaviruses, and viral proteins could be detected as early as 6 h p.i. Our results reinforce the original studies which had classified MDCV in the family Bunyaviridae, genus Bunyavirus as an ungrouped virus, and it may represent the prototype of a new serogroup.

Host characteristics do not affect community structure of ectoparasites on the fishing bat Noctilio leporinus (L., 1758) (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

Patterns of parasite abundance and prevalence are thought to be influenced by several host characteristics such as size, sex, developmental stage, and seasonality. We examined two obligatory ectoparasites of the bat Noctilio leporinus (L.) (Chiroptera, Noctilionidae) to test whether prevalence and abundance of Noctiliostrebla aitkeni Wenzel and Paradyschiria fusca Speiser (Diptera, Streblidae) are influenced by the host characteristics. During this survey, 2110 flies were collected. The total abundance was 1150 N. aitkeni and 950 P. fusca. The prevalence of both species was shown to be superior to 75% and neither host size, sex, reproductive stage nor season influenced significantly the variation of the observed values. N. aitkeni were more abundant than P. fusca in all seasons except winter. Both flies showed a significant seasonal variation in terms of abundance but host biological characteristics (host size, sex, and reproductive stage) did not play a significant role as structuring factors of the batflies component community.

Bat flies (Diptera: Streblidae, Nycteribiidae) parasitic on bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) at Parque Estadual da Cantareira, São Paulo, Brazil: parasitism rates and host-parasite associations

A total of 443 bat flies belonging to the families Nycteribiidae and Strelidae, were collected on 22 species of bats (Molossidae, Phyllostomidae, and Vespertilionidae) from Parque Estadual da Cantareira (São Paulo, Brazil), between January, 2000 and January, 2001. Eighteen new occurrences of bat flies were recorded on Anoura geoffroyi (Anastrebla caudiferae), Glossophaga soricina (A. caudiferae), Sturnira lilium (Trichobius phyllostomae, T. furmani, and Paraeuctenodes similis), Artibeus lituratus (A. caudiferae), A. fimbriatus (Megistopoda proxima), A. obscurus (Metelasmus pseudopterus), Myotis nigricans (M. proxima, M. aranea, Paratrichobius longicrus), M. ruber (Anatrichobius passosi, Joblingia sp.), M. levis (A. passosi), M. albescens (A. passosi, Basilia andersoni), and Histiotus velatus (M. aranea). Seven new occurrences were recorded for the state of São Paulo, increasing the range for T. tiptoni, T. furmani, M. proxima, Aspidoptera falcata, A. caudiferae, A. modestini and B. andersoni. The relationships between parasitism and host sex, reproductive stage, age hyperparasitism by fungi are discussed.