Effect of seasonality and microclimate on the variation in bat-fly load (Diptera: Streblidae) in a cave bat assemblage in a dry forest

Abstract

Seasonality causes fluctuations in the availability of resources, affecting the presence and abundance of animal species. These fluctuations can have an impact on parasite-host relationships, which in turn can be exacerbated by microclimatic changes to which bat-flies are exposed. We characterized the bat-fly load and evaluated the effect of seasonality on five bat species in a dry forest. We evaluated variations in microclimatic conditions inside the cave Cerro Huatulco between seasons and the response of the bat-fly load. We collected 1165 bat-fly specimens belonging to 16 species from 688 bats. The obtained results indicate that the mean abundance and infestation intensity exhibited changes between seasons in Artibeus jamaicensis, Desmodus rotundus, Glossophaga soricina, and Pteronotus parnellii. In the case of the effect of microclimate conditions, we observed that prevalence is negatively correlated with temperature in G. soricina, while mean abundance and mean infestation intensity were negatively related to temperature in A. jamaicensis and G. soricina. The present study provides significant information about host-parasite relationships in a dry forest and discusses the relevance of abiotic and biotic factors that could affect host-parasite interactions, as well as the importance of each parasite load parameter for the understanding of this interaction.

Network and parasitological analyses reveal latitudinal gradient in bats‐ectoparasitic fly interactions across the Neotropic

“…The ecological diversity of their hosts, associated with environmental changes, including in the landscape or climate, may lead to observable changes in the reproductive success of ectoparasitic bat‐flies (Reckardt & Kerth, 2007; Tlapaya‐Romero et al, 2021). Indeed, higher temperatures result in shorter incubation times for other groups of bat ectoparasites, increasing reproduction rates (Tlapaya‐Romero et al, 2021). The higher infestation intensity we found at lower latitudes may be explained by higher average temperatures along the year and by the more predictable regional climates overall.…”

“…Knowing that parasites are highly specific and that their distribution is limited not only by the presence of their hosts but also by other environmental variables (Marshall, 1982), the latitudinal variation in the structuring of the ecological networks was expected. Indeed, not only the type of interaction affects network structure, but also those environmental factors of which latitude is only a proxy, such as temperature and humidity (Tlapaya-Romero et al, 2021), as they vary on large scales, but remain reasonably stable on smaller scales (Alvares et al, 2013).…”

“…Here we present the first evaluation of the structuring of the interaction networks between bats and their ectoparasitic flies, as well as of parasitic indices, at a biogeographic scale along the Neotropical region. Although the number of studies on interactions between bats and their ectoparasitic flies has increased in recent years, the vast majority are still carried out at local or regional scales (e.g., Biz et al, 2021; Fagundes et al, 2017; Hiller et al, 2020; Salinas‐Ramos et al, 2018; Tlapaya‐Romero et al, 2021; Trujillo‐Pahua & Ibáñez‐Bernal, 2020). Fewer studies have provided data gathered on larger scales (but see Eriksson et al, 2019; Júnior et al, 2020; Saldaña‐Vázquez et al, 2019).…”

Review of studies about bat-fly interactions inside roosts, with observations on partnership patterns for publications

“…Research about ecology of roosting bats and their parasites has progressed slowly and increased recently (Zarazúa-Carbajal et al 2016 ; Tlapaya-Romero et al 2021 ). Early considerations about the importance of the roosts to the bat and bat-ectoparasite ecological interactions, with detailed descriptions about the reproduction and parasitism of bat flies appear in the studies of Wenzel and Tipton ( 1966 ) and Wenzel ( 1976 ).…”

“…In the second half of the 2010s decade, the use of interaction networks contributed to an alternative way to study the bat and bat-ectoparasite ecological interactions helping to build a broader understanding to studies including eco-epidemiology, endosymbiosis, and hyperparasitism (Fagundes et al 2017 ; Sándor et al 2018 ; Jensen et al 2019 ). From 2020 onwards, new data are added to the description of interactions within caves and to the reports of viruses found in bat-flies and in bats (Bennett et al 2020 ; Hiller et al 2021 ; Tlapaya-Romero et al 2021 ).…”