ABSTRACT
Bats are a diverse and ecologically important group of mammals that exhibit remarkable diversity in their feeding habits. These diverse feeding habits are thought to be reflected in the composition and function of their gut microbiota, which plays important roles in nutrient acquisition, immune function, and overall health. Despite the rich biodiversity of bat species in South America, there is a lack of microbiome studies focusing on bats from this region. Such studies could offer major insights into conservation efforts and the preservation of biodiversity in South America. In this work, we aimed to compare the gut microbiota of four bat species with different feeding habits from Southern Brazil, including nectarivorous, frugivorous, insectivorous, and hematophagous bats. Our findings demonstrate that feeding habits can have a significant impact on the diversity and composition of bat gut microbiotas, with each species exhibiting unique metabolic potentials related to their dietary niches. In addition, the identification of potentially pathogenic bacteria suggests that the carriage of microbial pathogens by bats may vary, depending on feeding habits and host-specific factors. These findings provide novel insights into the relationship between bat feeding habits and gut microbiota composition, highlighting the need to promote diverse habitats and food sources to support these ecologically important species.
Subject(s)
Behavior, Animal , Chiroptera , Echolocation , Animals , Flight, Animal , Predatory Behavior , Behavior, Animal/physiologyABSTRACT
Unlike most animals, most bats cannot synthesize vitamin C endogenously. Consequently, this vitamin must be obtained from the diet. Among the bat species, there are several food groups, such as frugivorous, nectarivorous, insectivorous, and hematophagous. In this work, we measured and compared vitamin C levels in different organs of four species of bats, all collected in southern Brazil. When analyzing and comparing the levels of vitamin C in the four bat species, (regardless of the organ), no significant differences were observed. However, when analyzing and comparing the levels of vitamin C in the four organs (regardless of the species), significant differences were observed, with the highest concentrations in the heart, followed by the liver and brain, while the lowest concentration was measured in the kidneys. Additional differences in the levels of Vitamin C were only observed when each organ was analyzed according to the species/diet. These results indicate a high degree of metabolic homeostasis in bats despite the marked difference in the type of diet.
ABSTRACT
We described the feeding habits of Colomesus asellus from riverbanks of the upper-middleTocantins River, Central Brazil. Two sampling expeditions were carried out in August (dry season) and inOctober (rainy season) of 2013, downstream from the Lajeado Hydroelectric Power Plant, Tocantins state.The diet of C. asellus was characterized and compared between juveniles and adults and betweenindividuals captured in the dry season and in the rainy season. Individuals exhibited marked temporalsegregation, with a predominance of adults on the riverbanks during the dry season and the predominanceof juveniles in the rainy season. The diet of this species was based on diverse benthic prey, mostlyEphemeroptera nymphs (Insecta). Contrary to our expectations, the diet composition of C. asellus was notinfluenced by seasonal changes or ontogenetic factors, but the size of individuals determined the numberof prey consumed. Thus, C. asellus can be classified in its trophic ecology as an insectivore without relationwith fish size and seasonality.
Descrevemos os hábitos alimentares de Colomesus asellus capturados nas margens do rioTocantins, Brasil Central. Duas expedições de coleta foram realizadas em agosto (estação seca) e emoutubro (estação chuvosa) de 2013, a jusante da Usina Hidrelétrica de Lajeado, Estado do Tocantins. Adieta de C. asellus foi caracterizada e comparada entre juvenis e adultos e entre indivíduos capturados naestação seca e na estação chuvosa. Os indivíduos apresentaram marcada segregação temporal, compredominância de adultos nas margens do rio durante a estação seca e predominância de juvenis na estaçãochuvosa. A dieta desta espécie foi baseada em diversas presas bentônicas, principalmente ninfas deEphemeroptera (Insecta). Contrariamente às nossas expectativas, a composição da dieta de C. asellus não foiinfluenciada por mudanças sazonais ou fatores ontogenéticos, mas o tamanho dos indivíduos determinou onúmero de presas consumidas. Assim, a espécie pode ser classificada como insetívora, sem variação em suaecologia trófica relacionada à sazonalidade do ambiente ou ao seu tamanho.
Subject(s)
Animals , Feeding Behavior , Tetraodontiformes/genetics , Tetraodontiformes/metabolism , SeasonsABSTRACT
We described the feeding habits of Colomesus asellus from riverbanks of the upper-middleTocantins River, Central Brazil. Two sampling expeditions were carried out in August (dry season) and inOctober (rainy season) of 2013, downstream from the Lajeado Hydroelectric Power Plant, Tocantins state.The diet of C. asellus was characterized and compared between juveniles and adults and betweenindividuals captured in the dry season and in the rainy season. Individuals exhibited marked temporalsegregation, with a predominance of adults on the riverbanks during the dry season and the predominanceof juveniles in the rainy season. The diet of this species was based on diverse benthic prey, mostlyEphemeroptera nymphs (Insecta). Contrary to our expectations, the diet composition of C. asellus was notinfluenced by seasonal changes or ontogenetic factors, but the size of individuals determined the numberof prey consumed. Thus, C. asellus can be classified in its trophic ecology as an insectivore without relationwith fish size and seasonality.(AU)
Descrevemos os hábitos alimentares de Colomesus asellus capturados nas margens do rioTocantins, Brasil Central. Duas expedições de coleta foram realizadas em agosto (estação seca) e emoutubro (estação chuvosa) de 2013, a jusante da Usina Hidrelétrica de Lajeado, Estado do Tocantins. Adieta de C. asellus foi caracterizada e comparada entre juvenis e adultos e entre indivíduos capturados naestação seca e na estação chuvosa. Os indivíduos apresentaram marcada segregação temporal, compredominância de adultos nas margens do rio durante a estação seca e predominância de juvenis na estaçãochuvosa. A dieta desta espécie foi baseada em diversas presas bentônicas, principalmente ninfas deEphemeroptera (Insecta). Contrariamente às nossas expectativas, a composição da dieta de C. asellus não foiinfluenciada por mudanças sazonais ou fatores ontogenéticos, mas o tamanho dos indivíduos determinou onúmero de presas consumidas. Assim, a espécie pode ser classificada como insetívora, sem variação em suaecologia trófica relacionada à sazonalidade do ambiente ou ao seu tamanho.(AU)
Subject(s)
Animals , Tetraodontiformes/genetics , Tetraodontiformes/metabolism , Feeding Behavior , SeasonsABSTRACT
The mammalian evolutionary tree has lost several major clades through recent human-caused extinctions. This process of historical biodiversity loss has particularly affected tropical island regions such as the Caribbean, an area of great evolutionary diversification but poor molecular preservation. The most enigmatic of the recently extinct endemic Caribbean mammals are the Nesophontidae, a family of morphologically plesiomorphic lipotyphlan insectivores with no consensus on their evolutionary affinities, and which constitute the only major recent mammal clade to lack any molecular information on their phylogenetic placement. Here, we use a palaeogenomic approach to place Nesophontidae within the phylogeny of recent Lipotyphla. We recovered the near-complete mitochondrial genome and sequences for 17 nuclear genes from a â¼750-year-old Hispaniolan Nesophontes specimen, and identify a divergence from their closest living relatives, the Solenodontidae, more than 40 million years ago. Nesophontidae is thus an older distinct lineage than many extant mammalian orders, highlighting not only the role of island systems as "museums" of diversity that preserve ancient lineages, but also the major human-caused loss of evolutionary history.
Subject(s)
Biological Evolution , Eulipotyphla/classification , Eulipotyphla/genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNA/methods , Animals , Biodiversity , DNA, Ancient/analysis , DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics , Genome, Mitochondrial , Phylogeny , West IndiesABSTRACT
The current study aimed to evaluate the diet of Monodelphis glirina (Wagner, 1842) in forest fragments of Alta Floresta, located in the south of the Amazon, state of Mato Grosso. The diet was determined by the analysis of the stomach contents from 57 subjects sampled between May and September 2009. Nine food categories were present: Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Diplopoda, Nematoda, seeds, miscellaneous, hair and bait leftovers (banana and peanut butter). Coleoptera was the category eaten most frequently, rating 50% of abundance and 91.22% of occurrence. "Seeds" were the least abundant (0.11%) and rated 1.75% in occurrence, probably because seeds are easy to digest. The size of the fragments negatively and significantly influenced the amount of Coleoptera in the diet. The rainy season seemed to have significant influence over the abundance of arthropods in the diet. The items in the diet suggest that M. glirina is opportunistic and has a generalist diet, tending to be insectivore when living in the forest and exploring the food resources according to their availability.
ABSTRACT
The current study aimed to evaluate the diet of Monodelphis glirina (Wagner, 1842) in forest fragments of Alta Floresta, located in the south of the Amazon, state of Mato Grosso. The diet was determined by the analysis of the stomach contents from 57 subjects sampled between May and September 2009. Nine food categories were present: Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Diplopoda, Nematoda, seeds, miscellaneous, hair and bait leftovers (banana and peanut butter). Coleoptera was the category eaten most frequently, rating 50% of abundance and 91.22% of occurrence. "Seeds" were the least abundant (0.11%) and rated 1.75% in occurrence, probably because seeds are easy to digest. The size of the fragments negatively and significantly influenced the amount of Coleoptera in the diet. The rainy season seemed to have significant influence over the abundance of arthropods in the diet. The items in the diet suggest that M. glirina is opportunistic and has a generalist diet, tending to be insectivore when living in the forest and exploring the food resources according to their availability.
ABSTRACT
The current study aimed to evaluate the diet of Monodelphis glirina (Wagner, 1842) in forest fragments of Alta Floresta, located in the south of the Amazon, state of Mato Grosso. The diet was determined by the analysis of the stomach contents from 57 subjects sampled between May and September 2009. Nine food categories were present: Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Diplopoda, Nematoda, seeds, miscellaneous, hair and bait leftovers (banana and peanut butter). Coleoptera was the category eaten most frequently, rating 50% of abundance and 91.22% of occurrence. "Seeds" were the least abundant (0.11%) and rated 1.75% in occurrence, probably because seeds are easy to digest. The size of the fragments negatively and significantly influenced the amount of Coleoptera in the diet. The rainy season seemed to have significant influence over the abundance of arthropods in the diet. The items in the diet suggest that M. glirina is opportunistic and has a generalist diet, tending to be insectivore when living in the forest and exploring the food resources according to their availability.