Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) abundance and frequency of attacks to cattle in landscapes of Yucatan, Mexico

Sánchez-Gómez, Wendy Susana; Salas, Celia Isela Sélem; Cordova-Aldana, Daniel Isaias; Erales-Villamil, José

doi:10.1007/s11250-022-03122-w

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…We first evaluated how culls affected bat population size, using the intensity of bat bites on livestock as a proxy ( 23 ). Specifically, we used data from questionnaires on bat bites carried out in the 33 culled districts of Apurimac (mean, 662 farms surveyed per month; range, 355 to 860).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2). We speculate that this might reflect rapid recolonization of roosts after culling (i.e., “vacuum” effects), low efficacy of the vampiricide product used, or that bites on livestock, although correlated with vampire bat population density, are an imperfect proxy ( 23 ). Ultimately, targeted field studies will be useful to understand how bat population dynamics and dispersal respond to culls and whether the epidemiological contexts under which culling might be effective are operationally and ethically achievable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of culling vampire bats on the spatial spread and spillover of rabies virus

et al. 2023

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Controlling pathogen circulation in wildlife reservoirs is notoriously challenging. In Latin America, vampire bats have been culled for decades in hopes of mitigating lethal rabies infections in humans and livestock. Whether culls reduce or exacerbate rabies transmission remains controversial. Using Bayesian state-space models, we show that a 2-year, spatially extensive bat cull in an area of exceptional rabies incidence in Peru failed to reduce spillover to livestock, despite reducing bat population density. Viral whole genome sequencing and phylogeographic analyses further demonstrated that culling before virus arrival slowed viral spatial spread, but reactive culling accelerated spread, suggesting that culling-induced changes in bat dispersal promoted viral invasions. Our findings question the core assumptions of density-dependent transmission and localized viral maintenance that underlie culling bats as a rabies prevention strategy and provide an epidemiological and evolutionary framework to understand the outcomes of interventions in complex wildlife disease systems.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of culling vampire bats on the spatial spread and spillover of rabies virus

et al. 2023

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“…Agricultural intensification has been linked to increased interactions and microbe spillover from bats to livestock [ 109 , 110 ]. For instance, the expansion of cattle farming in Latin America has allowed D. rotundus to feed almost exclusively on livestock blood, driving more frequent bat–livestock interactions [ 111 , 112 ]—a concern given their role in the transmission of rabies virus and potentially other zoonoses (e.g. Bartonella , Trypanosoma ).…”

Section: Research At the Community Scale: Multi-species Dynamics And ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in understanding bat infection dynamics across biological scales

Sánchez,

Phelps,

Frank

et al. 2024

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Over the past two decades, research on bat-associated microbes such as viruses, bacteria and fungi has dramatically increased. Here, we synthesize themes from a conference symposium focused on advances in the research of bats and their microbes, including physiological, immunological, ecological and epidemiological research that has improved our understanding of bat infection dynamics at multiple biological scales. We first present metrics for measuring individual bat responses to infection and challenges associated with using these metrics. We next discuss infection dynamics within bat populations of the same species, before introducing complexities that arise in multi-species communities of bats, humans and/or livestock. Finally, we outline critical gaps and opportunities for future interdisciplinary work on topics involving bats and their microbes.

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“…cattle) plays a prominent role in this human-wildlife conflict. Increasing land used for cattle farming has benefited the vampire bat, because cattle provide highly abundant, easily accessible food within the bats' habitat (Delpietro et al 1992, Brown 1994, Becker et al 2018, Bolívar-Cimé et al 2019, Sánchez-Gómez et al 2022). In the last decades, the geographical expansion of ranching has made this conflict more noticeable, which shows that the ultimate cause of the problem is the process of cattle production and the invasion of the natural habitat of the vampire bat, derived from the economic interests of the ranchers.…”

Section: Cattle Management and Landscape Context As Factors Associate...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most conflicts between ranchers and wildlife in the Neotropics are due to predation of livestock (Hoogesteijn & Hoogesteijn 2008, Rumiz et al 2011, Peña-Mondragón et al 2016, competition for forage (Bonino 2006), parasitism and disease transmission (Delpietro & Russo 2009, Novaes et al 2010, Sánchez-Gómez et al 2022. In this work, we chose a case of parasitism involving the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus (hereafter vampire bat) and cattle to exemplify this conflict.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing conflict between the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus and cattle ranching in Neotropical landscapes

et al. 2023

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Increased cattle ranching in Neotropical landscapes has led to human–wildlife conflicts that complicate the relationship between agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. We review the literature related to conflicts between livestock production and the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus, specifically, the factors that influence the incidence of problems caused by bites to cattle. We summarise the strategies proposed to reduce these problems and propose actions from the perspectives of cattle management, landscape ecology and the biology of the common vampire bat. The literature shows that free‐range extensive management systems, where cattle graze in areas with forest cover, near riparian zones, caves, secondary vegetation (generally shrublands and immature trees), and vegetation fragments and edges, increase the implications and the severity of the conflict. As a result of different selection forces, the wing morphology and echolocation characteristics of the common vampire bat facilitate its movement under these landscape conditions, thus favouring a scenario of greater interaction with cattle. We propose the establishment of a ‘buffer zone’ to separate the cattle as far as possible (at least 1 km) from the elements of the landscape that are key for the movement patterns of common vampire bats in cattle ranching areas. The feeding events of this species are positively associated with host availability and landscape elements that provide habitat and connectivity, which shows that the cause of this conflict originates from the process of cattle production and the invasion of the habitat of the common vampire bat. Anti‐rabies vaccination programmes in cattle and forest–cattle separation are the most important strategies to minimise conflict and prevent rabies outbreaks.

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Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) abundance and frequency of attacks to cattle in landscapes of Yucatan, Mexico

Cited by 5 publications

References 35 publications

Effects of culling vampire bats on the spatial spread and spillover of rabies virus

Effects of culling vampire bats on the spatial spread and spillover of rabies virus

Advances in understanding bat infection dynamics across biological scales

Reducing conflict between the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus and cattle ranching in Neotropical landscapes

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