Composition of guano produced by frugivorous, sanguivorous, and insectivorous bats

Emerson, Justin K; Roark, Alison McCombe

doi:10.3161/1733-5329(2007)9[261:cogpbf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 35 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Although culling vampire bats could ameliorate some livelihood risks, smallholders may incidentally increase other risks (e.g., reduced crop growth; Kunz et al 2011) by incidentally killing non-target bat species. Even vampire bat-specific killing is not risk-free as these bats may benefit humans by distributing limiting nutrients (Emerson & Roark 2007) or providing novel compounds for drug development (Bang 1991). Livelihood studies in Kenya and in central Costa Rica have similarly found that smallholders will sometimes minimize shortterm risk when long-term consequences are unrecognized (Mannon 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and Experience Predict Indiscriminate Bat‐Killing Intentions among Costa Rican Men

Reid

2016

Biotropica

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Human-wildlife conflicts create collateral damage when people attempt to control one problematic species and inadvertently kill others. I observed a collateral damage problem in southern Costa where people seeking to control common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) indiscriminately killed sympatric, non-target bat species (e.g., by baiting bats with poisoned bananas). To learn about this phenomenon and its causes, I developed and implemented a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior. In a sample of 504 men, 14 percent had individually killed 1-115 bats within the past 5 yr, 68 percent had killed bats as children, and 27 percent said that they would kill bats that they found roosting on their farms, even if they could not identify the species. Men who intended to indiscriminately kill bats thought that it would reduce disease transmission to livestock, whereas men who did not intend to kill bats thought that killing bats would reduce ecosystem functioning and/or damage nature. Ultimately, men were more likely to intend to indiscriminately kill bats if they knew less about bat natural history and/or had previously suffered vampire bats attacking their livestock. Men knew more about bat natural history and were less likely to harbor indiscriminate bat-killing intentions if they had experienced some form of environmental education. My results suggest that environmental education will be most effective for bat conservation when combined with farmer support to ameliorate perceived livelihood risks associated with vampire bats.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and Experience Predict Indiscriminate Bat‐Killing Intentions among Costa Rican Men

Reid

2016

Biotropica

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“…Bat guano is nutrient-rich and the specific nutrient composition of bat guano depends on the feeding habit of bats. For example, guano of insectivorous and sanguinivorous bats is more enriched in nitrogen (N) than that of frugivorous bats (Studier et al 1994, Emerson & Roark 2007, and guano of frugivorous and insectivorous bats contains more P than that of sanguinivorous bats (Emerson & Roark 2007). Bats defecate into their daytime roosts, yet it is unknown if trees take up bat-derived nutrients.…”

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confidence: 99%

Bats Fertilize Roost Trees

2015

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“…Chitin is abundant in guano from insectivorous bats (Emerson and Roark, 2007) and it derives from bats’ immense consumption of insects and/or from the fungi growing on their guano. Chitin-binding proteins may assist A. delacruzi as defensive proteins against chitin-containing pathogens such as fungi.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These features suggest a role for a SAA in innate immunity and in scavenging of lipid nutrients for A. delacruzi . The proportion of total lipids in dry matter and organic matter of guano from insectivorous bats is 20% and 24%, respectively (Emerson and Roark, 2007), a significant amount of this nutrient. The A. delacruzi serum amyloid-like protein was aligned with similar proteins from other ticks obtained from work by Francischetti and colleagues (Francischetti et al, 2009); Figure 3A) to produce the phylogram shown in Figure 3B.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One such study shows that it contains twice the amount of protein, 27 times the amount of calcium and 60 times the amount of iron as a commercial hamburger sandwich (Fenolio et al, 2006) and another that the fecal dry and organic matter contain 20% and 24% of lipid, 44% and 53% of carbon, 8% and 9% of nitrogen and 8% and 4% of phosphorous, respectively (Emerson and Roark, 2007). Chitin is, obviously, abundantly ingested by insectivorous bats and this may explain the significantly higher amount of nitrogen in guano produced by this group of bats than by fruit bats (Emerson and Roark, 2007). By means of the action of chitinases produced by intestinal bacteria present in insectivorous bats, chitin can be a source of nutrients to bats (Whitaker et al, 2004), but also to guano-feeders.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The sialotranscriptome of Antricola delacruzi female ticks is compatible with non-hematophagous behavior and an alternative source of food

Ribeiro

Labruna

Mans

et al. 2012

Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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The hosts for Antricola delacruzi ticks are insectivorous, cave-dwelling bats on which only larvae are found. The mouthparts of nymphal and adult A. delacruzi are compatible with scavenging feeding because the hypostome is small and toothless. How a single blood meal of a larva provides energy for several molts as well as for oviposition by females is not known. Adults of A. delacruzi possibly feed upon an unknown food source in bat guano, a substrate on which nymphal and adult stages are always found. Guano produced by insectivorous bats contains twice the amount of protein and 60 times the amount of iron as beef. In addition, bacteria and chitin-rich fungi proliferate on guano. Comparative data on the transcriptome of the salivary glands of A. delacruzi is nonexistent and would help to understand the physiological adaptations of salivary glands that accompany different sources of food as well as the steps taken by the Acari towards haematophagy, believed to have evolved from scavenging dead animals. Annotation of the transcriptome of salivary glands from female instars of A. delacruzi collected on guano categorized 5.7% of the clusters of expressed genes as putative secreted proteins. They included abundantly expressed TIL domain-containing proteins (possible anti-microbials), an abundantly expressed protein similar to a serum amyloid found in the sialotranscriptomes of Ornithodoros spp., a savignygrin, a family of mucin/peritrophin/cuticle-like proteins, antimicrobials and an HIV envelope-like glycoprotein also found in soft ticks. When comparing the transcriptome of A. delacruzi with those of blood-feeding female soft and hard ticks some notable differences were observed; they consisted of the following transcripts over- or under-represented or absent in the sialotranscriptome of A. delacuzi that may reflect its source of food: ferritin, mucins with chitin-binding domains and TIL domain-containing proteins versus lipocalins, basic tail proteins, metalloproteases, glycine-rich proteins and Kunitz protease inhibitors, respectively.

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Composition of guano produced by frugivorous, sanguivorous, and insectivorous bats

Cited by 35 publications

References 23 publications

Knowledge and Experience Predict Indiscriminate Bat‐Killing Intentions among Costa Rican Men

Knowledge and Experience Predict Indiscriminate Bat‐Killing Intentions among Costa Rican Men

Bats Fertilize Roost Trees

The sialotranscriptome of Antricola delacruzi female ticks is compatible with non-hematophagous behavior and an alternative source of food

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