ABSTRACT
Ecological aspects related to parasitism are one of the less studied issues in parasitology research, and the scarce evidence available supports that younger specimens present higher infestation rates. The purpose of this work is to establish if higher infestation rates are observed in nursing females and their young captured inside their roost. Bats were captured inside a shelter located in RPPN Estação Veracel, Santa Cruz de Cabrália, Bahia state, Brazil. A total of 56 individuals of Carollia perspicillata were observed, 17 captured inside the roost during the day and 39 in trails at night. Captures of C. perspicillata during the day in a shelter yielded similar infestation rates to bats netted in trails and higher prevalence. The hypothesis that young were more infected was confirmed, based on the higher infestation of nursing females with neonates and on the significant inverse relation between body weight and number of parasites in young and subadults.
Aspectos ecológicos relacionados ao parasitismo são uma das questões menos estudadas em parasitologia e poucas evidências sobre indivíduos jovens apresentando maiores taxas de infestações estão disponíveis.O objetivo deste trabalho é estabelecer se a taxa de infestação mais elevada é observada em fêmeas lactantes e jovens capturados dentro de seu refúgio. Os morcegos foram capturados dentro de um abrigo localizado na RPPN EstaçãoVeracel, Santa Cruz deCabrália-Bahia, Brasil. Um total de 56 indivíduos de Carollia perspicillata foi observado, sendo que 17 indivíduos foram capturados dentro do refúgio, durante o dia, e 39 foram capturados em trilhas, à noite. Indivíduos de C. perspicillata capturados durante o dia no abrigo apresentaram índices de infestação semelhantes aos morcegos capturados em trilhas e maior prevalência. A hipótese de que jovens eram maisinfectados foi confirmada, com base na maior infestação de fêmeas com recém-nascidos e na relação inversa significativa entre o peso corporal e o número de parasitas em jovens e subadultos.
Subject(s)
Animals , Female , Male , Pregnancy , Chiroptera/parasitology , Diptera , Ectoparasitic Infestations/veterinary , Animals, Newborn , Brazil/epidemiology , Chiroptera/classification , Ectoparasitic Infestations/epidemiology , Host-Parasite Interactions , Housing, Animal , PrevalenceABSTRACT
The mark-recapture method allows analysis on the variation in the abundance of bat ectoparasites at consecutive captures. The objectives of this study were to compare the pattern of Streblidae parasitism between capture and recapture of C. perspicillata; ascertain whether the abundance of Streblidae varied with time after removal of ectoparasites at capture and analyze whether the intensity of parasitism remained the same in each individual at capture and recapture. Using bats netted in the State of Rio de Janeiro, 42 individuals of C. perspicillata parasitized by two Streblidae species, Trichobius joblingi Wenzel, 1966 and Strebla guajiro (Garcia & Casal, 1965), were selected. The pattern of parasitism observed at capture was similar at recapture. No relationship was observed between the capture-recapture time interval and the abundance of ectoparasites. There was no relationship between the abundances of ectoparasites at capture and recapture of each individual.
A utilização da técnica de marcação-recaptura de morcegos permite a análise da variação na abundância de ectoparasitas de morcegos em capturas consecutivas. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram comparar o padrão de parasitismo de Streblidae entre captura e recaptura de Carollia perspicillata; verificar se a abundância de Streblidae varia com o tempo após a remoção dos ectoparasitas na captura e analisar se a intensidade de parasitismo permanece similar em cada indivíduo na captura e recaptura. Por meio de coletas com redes de neblina, no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, foram encontrados 42 indivíduos de C. perspicillata parasitados por duas espécies de Streblidae, Trichobius joblingi Wenzel, 1966 e Strebla guajiro (Garcia & Casal, 1965). O padrão de parasitismo observado durante a captura foi semelhante na recaptura. Não foi observada relação do tempo entre a captura e recaptura com a abundância de ectoparasitas. Não houve relação entre a abundância de ectoparasitas na captura e recaptura de cada indivíduo.
Subject(s)
Animals , Chiroptera/parasitology , Diptera , Ectoparasitic Infestations/epidemiology , Brazil , RecurrenceABSTRACT
We studied the ectoparasitic bat flies of three phyllostomid vampire bat species. Bats were collected monthly from April 2004-March 2005 in caves within the Cafuringa Environmental Protection Area in the Federal District of Brazil. A total of 1,259 specimens from six species in the Streblidae family were collected from 332 bats. High host affinity from the sampled bat fly species and high prevalence of bat flies confirms the primary fly-host associations (Strebla wiedemanni, Trichobius parasiticus and Trichobius furmani with Desmodus, Trichobius diaemi and Strebla diaemi with Diaemus and T. furmani with Diphylla). Male flies outnumbered females in several associations. Some of the observed associations (e.g., Strebla mirabilis with Desmodus and S. mirabilis, Trichobius uniformis and S. wiedemanni with Diphylla) were inconclusive and the causes of the associations were unclear. There are several explanations for these associations, including (i) accidental contamination during sampling, (ii) simultaneous capture of several host species in the same net or (iii) genuine, but rare, ecological associations. Although various species of vampire bats share roosts, have similar feeding habits and are close phylogenetic relatives, they generally do not share ectoparasitic streblid bat flies. T. diaemi and S. diaemi associations with Diaemus youngi have not been previously reported in this region.