Host social organization and mating system shape parasite transmission opportunities in three European bat species

Schaik, Jaap van; Kerth, Gerald

doi:10.1007/s00436-016-5323-8

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Swarming sites are thought to be 'hotspots' for gene flow between otherwise isolated bat populations 52 and may operate from regional to international scales, potentially allowing transmission and maintenance of infectious disease. Indeed, van Schaik and Kerth 53 have shown the relevance of inter-roost contact during swarming for transmission of Spinturnix mites in three European Myotis species including M. daubentonii. Albeit in a different ecological context, the importance of inter-roost mixing has also been demonstrated for the maintenance of rabies virus infection in populations of haematophagous bats 54 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between roost contact is essential for maintenance of European bat lyssavirus type-2 in Myotis daubentonii bat reservoir: ‘The Swarming Hypothesis’

Horton

Breed

Arnold

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Many high-consequence human and animal pathogens persist in wildlife reservoirs. An understanding of the dynamics of these pathogens in their reservoir hosts is crucial to inform the risk of spill-over events, yet our understanding of these dynamics is frequently insufficient. Viral persistence in a wild bat population was investigated by combining empirical data and in-silico analyses to test hypotheses on mechanisms for viral persistence. A fatal zoonotic virus, European Bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2), in Daubenton's bats (Myotis daubentonii) was used as a model system. A total of 1839 M. daubentonii were sampled for evidence of virus exposure and excretion during a prospective nine year serial cross-sectional survey. Multivariable statistical models demonstrated age-related differences in seroprevalence, with significant variation in seropositivity over time and among roosts. An Approximate Bayesian Computation approach was used to model the infection dynamics incorporating the known host ecology. The results demonstrate that EBLV-2 is endemic in the study population, and suggest that mixing between roosts during seasonal swarming events is necessary to maintain EBLV-2 in the population. These findings contribute to understanding how bat viruses can persist despite low prevalence of infection, and why infection is constrained to certain bat species in multispecies roosts and ecosystems. Bats have been implicated as reservoirs for multiple viral, bacterial and protozoal pathogens of human and animal health importance, including Ebola virus, Bartonella spp., and rabies virus 1,2. Aspects of the ecology and demography of bats such as forming high-density aggregations, and flight permitting long-distance movement, may play a role in this ability to maintain a variety of pathogens 2. Mechanisms of pathogen persistence at the population level are often poorly understood, particularly when infection elicits a long lasting protective immune response 3. Rabies virus is one of a growing number of recognised lyssavirus species that are all capable of causing fatal encephalitis 4. The majority of these lyssaviruses are associated with bats 5. Although the full public and animal

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between roost contact is essential for maintenance of European bat lyssavirus type-2 in Myotis daubentonii bat reservoir: ‘The Swarming Hypothesis’

Horton

Breed

Arnold

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…increasing their toleration specific to a single host’s immune reaction) they may increase their chances of successful feeding on the selected host species [33]. The social system of the hosts, with special emphasis here on the roosting habits, affects the parasitism of bats [4]. While bent-wing bats ( Mi.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most parasite species evolved into organisms highly specialized to their living environment (the hosts’ body) and they also show remarkable behavioral traits helping them to find, colonize and live in/on their host [1]. Parasites may even synchronize their reproduction to access the most profitable host individuals or populations [2–4] or use propagation strategies to increase their chances to find new hosts [5]. Thus, host selection and seasonality of parasites are among the most important ecological aspects of parasite life-cycles to study, and relevant data are crucial to understand associated epidemiological risks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bats and ticks: host selection and seasonality of bat-specialist ticks in eastern Europe

et al. 2019

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BackgroundParasites may actively seek for hosts and may use a number of adaptive strategies to promote their reproductive success and host colonization. These strategies will necessarily influence their host specificity and seasonality. Ticks are important ectoparasites of vertebrates, which (in addition to directly affecting their hosts) may transmit a number of pathogens. In Europe, three hard tick species (Ixodidae: Ixodes ariadnae, I. simplex and I. vespertilionis) and at least two soft tick species (Argasidae: Argas transgariepinus and A. vespertilionis) are specialized for bats.MethodsHere we report data on the host range of these ticks and the seasonality of tick infestation on wild caught bats in south-east Europe. We collected 1803 ticks from 30 species of bats living in underground shelters (caves and mines) from Romania and Bulgaria. On the basis of tick–host associations, we tested several hypotheses on host–parasite evolutionary adaptations regulating host specificity, seasonality and sympatric speciation.ResultsWe observed significant differences in host specificity and seasonality of abundance between the morphologically different bat specialist ticks (I. simplex and I. vespertilionis) likely caused by their host choice and their respective host-seeking behavior. The two highly generalist, but morphologically similar tick species (I. ariadnae and I. vespertilionis) showed temporal differences in occurrence and activity, thus exploiting significantly different host communities while occurring in geographical sympatry.ConclusionsWe conclude that bat-specialist ticks show a wide range of adaptations to their hosts, with differences in specificity, seasonality of occurrence, the prevalence and intensity of infestation and all these contribute to a successful division of temporal niches of ticks sharing morphologically similar hosts occurring in geographical sympatry.

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“…We characterized specific traits of each bat species studied based on previous scientific literature on pathogen dynamics in bats [51,[64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71]: colony size (small, medium, or large if a typical colony contains one to dozens, hundreds to thousands, or thousands to millions of individuals, respectively); roost type ("closed" if the species has been reported to use caves, mines, roofs, or other confined spaces; or "open" if the bats have been typically reported roosting in the foliage of trees); the aggregation of bats in clusters while roosting (no, yes); and the number of litters per year of the species at equatorial latitudes. References are provided in Additional file 2.…”

Section: Bat Species Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproduction of East-African bats may guide risk mitigation for coronavirus spillover

et al. 2020

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Background: Bats provide important ecosystem services; however, current evidence supports that they host several zoonotic viruses, including species of the Coronaviridae family. If bats in close interaction with humans host and shed coronaviruses with zoonotic potential, such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus, spillover may occur. Therefore, strategies aiming to mitigate potential spillover and disease emergence, while supporting the conservation of bats and their important ecological roles are needed. Past research suggests that coronavirus shedding in bats varies seasonally following their reproductive cycle; however, shedding dynamics have been assessed in only a few species, which does not allow for generalization of findings across bat taxa and geographic regions. Methods:To assess the generalizability of coronavirus shedding seasonality, we sampled hundreds of bats belonging to several species with different life history traits across East Africa at different times of the year. We assessed, via Bayesian modeling, the hypothesis that chiropterans, across species and spatial domains, experience seasonal trends in coronavirus shedding as a function of the reproductive cycle. Results: We found that, beyond spatial, taxonomic, and life history differences, coronavirus shedding is more expected when pups are becoming independent from the dam and that juvenile bats are prone to shed these viruses.Conclusions: These findings could guide policy aimed at the prevention of spillover in limited-resource settings, where longitudinal surveillance is not feasible, by identifying high-risk periods for coronavirus shedding. In these periods, contact with bats should be avoided (for example, by impeding or forbidding people access to caves). Our proposed strategy provides an alternative to cullingan ethically questionable practice that may result in higher pathogen levelsand supports the conservation of bats and the delivery of their key ecosystem services.

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Host social organization and mating system shape parasite transmission opportunities in three European bat species

Cited by 19 publications

References 47 publications

Between roost contact is essential for maintenance of European bat lyssavirus type-2 in Myotis daubentonii bat reservoir: ‘The Swarming Hypothesis’

Between roost contact is essential for maintenance of European bat lyssavirus type-2 in Myotis daubentonii bat reservoir: ‘The Swarming Hypothesis’

Bats and ticks: host selection and seasonality of bat-specialist ticks in eastern Europe

Reproduction of East-African bats may guide risk mitigation for coronavirus spillover

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