Bat–bat fly interactions in Central Panama: host traits relate to modularity in a highly specialised network

Abstract

Recently, network approaches have gained increasing popularity in studies of species interactions. These analyses provide important information about structural and functional organisation, as well as on the dynamics of species interactions. Common model systems for network studies include seed dispersal, pollination, and also parasite interactions. Bat flies (Diptera: Streblidae, Nycteribiidae) are obligate blood‐sucking ectoparasites of bats. Resource partitioning allows multiple fly species to co‐occur on a single host individual, making them an ideal model system for network analyses. Between 2013 and 2018 in Central Panama, 6528 bats from 53 species were examined for the presence of bat flies. Thereof, we collected a total of 6077 bat flies belonging to 52 species. The resulting interaction network showed a significantly higher specificity (H2' = 0.97) and modularity (Q = 0.78) than expected by chance, indicating a very high host specificity of the bat flies. To investigate parasite interactions in the context of host size, host abundance and roosting preferences, we pooled parasite identifications on genus level. The majority of our identified modules were associated with bats using persistent roosting structures. Neither host size nor host abundance appeared to affect module structure. Further, module structure appeared not to be host‐phylogeny driven, instead modules were often composed of species known to share roosting structures. Their high host‐specificity could put bat flies at risk of extinction in changing environments.

Network and parasitological analyses reveal latitudinal gradient in bats‐ectoparasitic fly interactions across the Neotropic

“…Interaction patterns at the local scale (Durán et al, 2019;Fagundes et al, 2017;Hiller et al, 2021) may hide variations in the relationship between species, but when observed at a larger scale may reveal modulations, as we detected here. Knowing that parasites are highly specific and that their distribution is limited not only by the presence of their hosts but also by other environmental variables (Marshall, 1982), the latitudinal variation in the structuring of the ecological networks was expected.…”

“…On the other hand, the system is a model also because of the evolutionary characteristics of ectoparasites, particularly their high specificity — about 70% to 90% of bat flies in the Neotropic parasitize a specific species or genus of bat (Dick, 2007; Dick & Gettinger, 2005; Marshall, 1982) — adenotrophic viviparity, and the presence of winged, brachypterous, and wingless species (Marshall, 1982). Those diverse attributes found in the two groups contribute to different infestation patterns (Hiller et al, 2021).…”

Seasonal variation and host sex affect bat–bat fly interaction networks in the Amazonian savannahs

“…2018) and bat fly collection (Table 1) tend to be higher in the wet season, and the greater combined host species richness at this time enhances the probability of bat flies switching hosts within bat roosts (Dick 2007; Hiller et al. 2021). Although Zarazúa‐Carbajal et al.…”

Review of studies about bat-fly interactions inside roosts, with observations on partnership patterns for publications

“…In the second half of the 2010s decade, the use of interaction networks contributed to an alternative way to study the bat and bat-ectoparasite ecological interactions helping to build a broader understanding to studies including eco-epidemiology, endosymbiosis, and hyperparasitism (Fagundes et al 2017 ; Sándor et al 2018 ; Jensen et al 2019 ). From 2020 onwards, new data are added to the description of interactions within caves and to the reports of viruses found in bat-flies and in bats (Bennett et al 2020 ; Hiller et al 2021 ; Tlapaya-Romero et al 2021 ).…”