Ectoparasite bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) of Schreiber's bent-winged bat and their fungus parasite
2021
Authors:
Bajić, BrankaBudinski, Ivana
Blagojević, Jelena
Contributors
Klun, IvanaDjurković-Djaković, Olgica
Document Type:
Conference object (Published version)
,
© 2018 by the Serbian Society of Parasitology
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract:
Background. Schreiber’s bent-winged bat, Miniopterus schreibersii, is one of the most common cavernicolous bat species in southern Europe, ofen heavily parasitzed with different ectoparasites thanks to its gregarious nature, i.e. forming large colonies of many thousands of densely packed animals. Flies from Nycteribiidae family are highly specialized ectoparasites of bats that live on their pelage and feed on blood.
Material and Methods. We collected ectoparasites from 168 host specimens M. schreibersii from eight sites in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, aiming to characterize bat flies species assemblage and identify abundance paterns. Flies were identfed morphologically, and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences were used to confrm nycteribiid species identfcaton and to further explore their genetc diversity. During the morphological examinaton, flies were checked for the presence of hyperparasite fungi (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniales).
Results. Three bat fly species were identfed: Nycteribia schmidlii (210), Penicillidia conspicua (71), and P. dufourii (5). Prevalence of ectoparasite infecton ranged from 58.6% to 100%, with mean abundance and intensity of infecton being 1.7 and 2.3, respectvely. Arthrorhynchus sp. fungus was found in 15 specimens of P. conspicua fly (21%). We report 21 (N. schmidlii), 12 (P. conspicua) and three (P. dufourii) COI haplotypes in these fly species, as well as relatvely high haplotype and nucleotde diversites.
Conclusion. The results presented here contribute to the knowledge of rarely studied bat ectoparasite fauna in central Balkans by revealing abundance paterns, adding new barcoding sequences to the reference base, and identfying cases of hyperparasitsm on bat flies from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Funding / projects:
- Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, institutional funding - 200007 (University of Belgrade, Institute for Biological Research 'Siniša Stanković') (RS-MESTD-inst-2020-200007)
In:
- Klun I, Djurković-Djaković O, editors. Programme and Abstract Book: 13th European Multicolloquium of Parasitology; 2021 Oct 12-16;Belgrade, Serbia. Belgrade: Serbian Society of Parasitology; 2021. p. 81.