Ectoparasites of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in Atlantic forest fragments in north-eastern Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil, most studies involving parasites of bats (bat flies) treat the mid-west, south-east, and south of the country. This work aimed to characterize the ectoparasites community associated with bats in the Atlantic forest in the state of Sergipe, north-eastern Brazil. Sampling was conducted between January and June 2013 in the Serra de Itabaiana National Park (PNSI) and between November 2013 and June 2015 in the Wildlife Refuge Mata do Junco (RVSMJ). Parasitological indexes were determined, and the influence of host sex and the seasonality in prevalence rates and mean intensity for the most abundant parasites was evaluated. Some 129 parasites were collected in PNSI and 296 in RVSMJ, and 100 and 70.6 %, respectively, belong to the family Streblidae. The differences in parasitological rates in Sergipe in relation to other studies may be associated with the environmental characteristics and the composition of the host community. The influence of sex and the seasonal prevalence of Speiseria ambigua and Trichobius joblingi, associated with Carollia perspicillata, may be associated with a lower rate of female captures and low sampling in the dry season. This is a pioneer study in Sergipe that reveals the occurrence of 16 species of streblids and representatives of Acari and Basilia spp., highlighting the need for more studies to increase the wealth and understanding of host-parasite associations in the state.

Updated species list of the bat ectoparasitic flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) in the state of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil

“…We also increase from 31 to 34 the known species in the northeastern portion of the Atlantic Forest, above the São Francisco River (Barbier & Bernard, 2017). Despite that, the state currently accounts for about 20% (22/111) of bat ectoparasitic fly species richness in Brazil (Barbier et al, 2018;Bezerra et al, 2016;Graciolli et al, 2007;Lourenço et al, 2016).…”

“…Currently, throughout northeastern Brazil, 47 streblid and only 3 nycteribiid species have been recorded infesting 8 bat families, mainly Phyllostomidae (Barbier & Bernard, 2017). Despite the advance in recent years (Bezerra et al, 2016;Santos et al, 2013;Soares et al, 2013Soares et al, , 2016, species richness in the northeastern is underestimated and the majority of states is undersampled or lack information about bat ectoparasitic flies' diversity (Barbier & Bernard, 2017). The state of Paraíba, for instance, has had only 1 survey on bat ectoparasitic flies -conducted in the Caatinga (seasonally dry tropical forest)-with 10 species recorded .…”

Ticks parasitizing bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in the Caatinga Biome, Brazil

“…This region includes areas of semi-deciduous and cloud forests, and presents low rainfall and humidity regimes (COSTA et al, 2004). While ticks are associated with bats in other Brazilian biomes (LABRUNA & VENZAL 2009;LABRUNA et al, 2011;MUÑOZ-LEAL et al, 2016b), to date documented reports of ectoparasites on bats from the Caatinga Biome include only streblid flies (Diptera: Streblidae) (RIOS et al, 2008;BEZERRA et al, 2016) and spinturnicid mites (Acari: Spinturnicidae) (ALMEIDA et al, 2016). In this study we introduce the diversity of ticks parasitizing bats in the Caatinga biome, providing new records of hosts and localities for this understudied group of parasites.…”

Hosts and environment overshadow spatial distance as drivers of bat fly species composition in the Neotropics

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