Sharing roosts but not ectoparasites: high host-specificity in bat flies and wing mites of <i>Miniopterus schreibersii</i> and <i>Rhinolophus ferrumequinum</i> (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

Pejić, Branka; Budinski, İvana; Schaik, Jaap van; Blagojević, Jelena

doi:10.1093/cz/zoab086

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 62 publications

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“…Therefore, few fly species parasitize more than two hosts in cold caves, forming more modules of independent interactions and increasing SS. Roost sharing by hosts is not necessarily related to their sharing of parasitic flies in cold caves, causing flies dependence on their primary hosts for survival (Pejić et al., 2021). Thus, the representativeness of both systems appears in meta‐network characterized by Phyllostomus discolor and Nycterophilia fairchildi , which appears fundamental for structuring interactions on a regional scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

My cave, my rules: Specialization, modularity, and topology of bat‐fly interactions in hot and cold caves from eastern South America

Urbieta,

da Cunha Tavares

2024

Biotropica

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Caves provide relatively stable and advantageous roosting sites for bats compared to more open roosts, like tree foliage. This environment may have the drawback of facilitating interactions with their ectoparasites due to the confined spaces. Understanding the structure of interactions between bats, acting as hosts, and bat flies, serving as parasites in cave ecosystems, is a crucial first step in deciphering the roles of each species (pullers and pushers) within the networks that form in subterranean ecosystems. Here, we describe and evaluate the network structures of bat‐fly interactions in two distinct cave systems: cold caves (n = 10), also known as bat caves, and hot caves (n = 6). Based on the records of 700 bats from 16 species and 1.412 bat flies from 30 species we uncovered highly distinct topologies comparing hot and cold bat caves that differed also in terms of interactions, specializations, and modularity. We found relatively lower specialization and modularity in hot caves compared to the cold caves, which may be associated to the bat composition and the cave microclimate. Bat flies were highly species‐specific in relation to their bat hosts and dependent on the bats in both hot and cold caves systems. The differences in network structure and at the species level between the bat (cold) and hot caves systems suggest that bat‐fly interactions are shaped by the host species' composition and by the cave system type. Those differences stem from each bat species' adaptation to extreme cave microclimates and their species‐specific roosting behaviors.Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

My cave, my rules: Specialization, modularity, and topology of bat‐fly interactions in hot and cold caves from eastern South America

Urbieta,

da Cunha Tavares

2024

Biotropica

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Species richness of bat flies and their associations with host bats in a subtropical East Asian region

et al. 2023

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Background Understanding the interactions between bat flies and host bats offer us fundamental insights into the coevolutionary and ecological processes in host-parasite relationships. Here, we investigated the identities, host specificity, and patterns of host association of bat flies in a subtropical region in East Asia, which is an understudied region for bat fly research. Methods We used both morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding to identify the bat fly species found on 11 cavernicolous bat species from five bat families inhabiting Hong Kong. We first determined the phylogenetic relationships among bat fly species. Then, we elucidated the patterns of bat-bat fly associations and calculated the host specificity of each bat fly species. Furthermore, we assembled the mitogenomes of three bat fly species from two families (Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) to contribute to the limited bat fly genetic resources available. Results We examined 641 individuals of bat flies and found 20 species, of which many appeared to be new to science. Species of Nycteribiidae included five Nycteribia spp., three Penicillidia spp., two Phthiridium spp., one Basilia sp., and one species from a hitherto unknown genus, whereas Streblidae included Brachytarsina amboinensis, three Raymondia spp., and four additional Brachytarsina spp. Our bat-bat fly association network shows that certain closely related bat flies within Nycteribiidae and Streblidae only parasitized host bat species that are phylogenetically more closely related. For example, congenerics of Raymondia only parasitized hosts in Rhinolophus and Hipposideros, which are in two closely related families in Rhinolophoidea, but not other distantly related co-roosting species. A wide spectrum of host specificity of these bat fly species was also revealed, with some bat fly species being strictly monoxenous, e.g. nycteribiid Nycteribia sp. A, Phthiridium sp. A, and streblid Raymondia sp. A, while streblid B. amboinensis is polyxenous. Conclusions The bat fly diversity and specificity uncovered in this study have shed light on the complex bat-bat fly ecology in the region, but more bat-parasite association studies are still needed in East Asian regions like China as a huge number of unknown species likely exists. We highly recommend the use of DNA barcoding to support morphological identification to reveal accurate host-ectoparasite relationships for future studies. Graphical Abstract

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Non-invasive investigation of Polychromophilus parasite infections in bat populations in Serbia using bat flies

et al. 2023

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Background Haemosporidian parasites of the genus Polychromophilus infect bats worldwide. They are vectored by obligate ectoparasitic bat flies of the family Nycteribiidae. Despite their global distribution, only five Polychromophilus morphospecies have been described to date. The two predominant species, Polychromophilus melanipherus and Polychromophilus murinus, are broadly distributed and mainly infect miniopterid and vespertilionid bats, respectively. In areas where species from different bat families aggregate together, the infection dynamics and ability of either Polychromophilus species to infect other host families is poorly characterized. Methods We collected 215 bat flies from two bat species, Miniopterus schreibersii and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, which sometimes form mixed clusters in Serbia. Miniopterus schreibersii is known to be frequently infected with P. melanipherus, whereas R. ferrumequinum has been observed to be incidentally infected with both Polychromophilus species. All flies were screened for Polychromophilus infections using a PCR targeting the haemosporidian cytb gene. Positive samples were subsequently sequenced for 579 bp of cytochrome b (cytb) and 945 bp of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1). Results Polychromophilus melanipherus DNA was detected at six out of nine sampling locations and in all three examined bat fly species collected from M. schreibersii (Nycteribia schmidlii, n = 21; Penicillidia conspicua, n = 8; Penicillidia dufourii, n = 3). Four and five haplotypes were found for cytb and cox1, respectively. Evidence for multiple Polychromophilus haplotypes was found in 15 individual flies. These results point to a high diversity of P. melanipherus parasites in Miniopterus hosts and efficient transmission throughout the study area. A single Phthiridium biarticulatum bat fly collected from R. ferrumequinum screened positive for P. melanipherus, but only yielded a partial cox1 sequence fragment. Nevertheless, this result suggests that secondary hosts (both bat and fly species) are regularly confronted with this parasite. Conclusions The results of this study provide new insights into the prevalence and distribution of Polychromophilus parasites in European bats and their nycteribiid vectors. The use of bat flies for the non-invasive investigation of Polychromophilus infections in bat populations has proven to be efficient and thus represents an alternative for large-scale studies of infections in bat populations without the need to invasively collect blood from bats. Graphical Abstract

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Sharing roosts but not ectoparasites: high host-specificity in bat flies and wing mites of Miniopterus schreibersii and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

Cited by 5 publications

References 62 publications

My cave, my rules: Specialization, modularity, and topology of bat‐fly interactions in hot and cold caves from eastern South America

My cave, my rules: Specialization, modularity, and topology of bat‐fly interactions in hot and cold caves from eastern South America

Species richness of bat flies and their associations with host bats in a subtropical East Asian region

Non-invasive investigation of Polychromophilus parasite infections in bat populations in Serbia using bat flies

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