Effects of host state and body condition on parasite infestation of bent-wing bats

Abstract

Background Ectoparasites inhabit the body surface or outgrowths of hosts and are usually detrimental to host health and wellbeing. Hosts, however, vary in quality and may lead ectoparasites to aggregate on preferred hosts, resulting in a heterogeneous distribution of parasite load among hosts. Results We set out to examine the effects of host individual state and body condition on the parasite load of multiple nycteribiid and streblid bat flies and Spinturnix wing mites on eastern bent-wing bats Miniopterus fuliginosus in a tropical forest in southern Taiwan. We detected a high parasite prevalence of 98.9% among the sampled bats, with nearly 75% of the bats harboring three or more species of parasites. The parasite abundance was higher in the wet season from mid spring to early fall, coinciding with the breeding period of female bats, than in the dry winter season. In both seasonal periods, the overall parasite abundance of adult females was higher than that of adult males. Among the bats, reproductive females, particularly lactating females, exhibited a higher body condition and were generally most infested. The Penicillidia jenynsii and Nycteribia parvula bat flies showed a consistent female-biased infection pattern. The N. allotopa and Ascodipteron speiserianum flies, however, showed a tendency towards bats of a moderate to higher body condition, particularly reproductive females and adult males. Conclusions We found an overall positive correlation between parasite abundance and reproductive state and body condition of the host and female-biased parasitism for M. fuliginosus bats. However, the effects of body condition and female-biased infestation appear to be parasite species specific, and suggest that the mobility, life history, and potential inter-species interactions of the parasites may all play important roles.

A Five-Year Study on Infestation and Abundance of Bat Flies (Hippoboscoidea: Streblidae) Under Severe Dry Season Conditions in the Tropical Dry Forest of Yucatan, Mexico

“…The body condition index (BCI) values of both bat species did not show significant differences between the sexes, and they did not explain the high ectoparasite abundance in females, as reported in other studies (see Tai et al 2022 ). The general pattern of the many host-parasite systems shows that males exhibit a high parasite load (Patterson et al 2008 ; Pollock et al 2012 ).…”

“…On the other hand, grooming behavior and frequency could explain the abundance of bat flies on female’s condition. The grooming rate in reproductive/lactating females is lower because it is energetically costly (Giorgi et al 2001 ) and this could explain why pregnant females harbored higher quantities of bat flies (see Tai et al 2022 ).…”

Context-specific variation and repeatability in behavioral traits of bent-wing bats

“…We distinguished the sex of each bat by the presence of genitalia and differentiated juveniles from adults by the gaped epiphyseal plate between the long phalanges. Juveniles and females showing any signs of reproductive stages, as determined by stomach palpation and the presence of nipple swelling and milk [38], were excluded from the behavioral tests and released on site.…”

Diversity of Ectoparasites on Bats in Dramaga, Bogor, Indonesia

“…Fluctuations in the reproductive cycle, such as pregnancy and lactation, could suppress immunity and increase susceptibility to parasites. During this period, the female species tended to spend more time in roosting sites, increasing contact with ectoparasites or the other infested bats (Tai et al 2022;Nangoy et al 2021;Webber et al 2015).…”