Background: The skin fungal communities of animals play a crucial role in maintaining host health and defending against pathogens. Because fungal infections can affect the skin microbiota of bats, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of healthy bat skin fungal communities and the ecological processes driving them provides valuable insights into the interactions between pathogens and fungi.
Methods: We used Kruskal-Wallis tests and Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance (PERMANOVA) to clarify differences in skin fungal community structure among bat species.
Niche theory predicts that ecologically similar sympatric species should show differentiation in at least one of the main niche dimensions (time, space, and/or food). Here, we combined observations of breeding timing, nest site selection, and diet (the latter determined using DNA metabarcoding) to analyze the niche overlap and differentiation between two sympatric secondary cavity-nesting birds, the Japanese Tit and the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher . The results showed that (1) there were significant differences in the first egg laying date, length of the egg laying period, incubation date, and hatching date between tits and flycatchers, and the breeding time of flycatchers peaked later (about 30 days) than that of tits; (2) the two species had a large overlap in nest site selection, although the canopy coverage and shrub density of flycatchers were significantly higher than those of tits; and (3) the niche overlap in diet was minimal, with both species heavily relying on Lepidoptera (39.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The gut microbiome is a symbiotic microbial community associated with the host and plays multiple important roles in host physiology, nutrition, and health. A number of factors have been shown to influence the gut microbiome, among which diet is considered to be one of the most important; however, the relationship between diet composition and gut microbiota in wild mammals is still not well recognized. Herein, we characterized the gut microbiota of bats and examined the effects of diet, host taxa, body size, gender, elevation, and latitude on the gut microbiota.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPredation risk may affect the foraging behavior of birds. However, there has been little research on the ability of domestic birds to perceive predation risk and thus adjust their feeding behavior. In this study, we tested whether domestic budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) perceived predation risk after the presentation of specimens and sounds of sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), domestic cats (Felis catus), and humans, and whether this in turn influenced their feeding behavior.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin microbiota play an important role in protecting bat hosts from the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which has caused dramatic bat population declines and extinctions. Recent studies have provided insights into the bacterial communities of bat skin, but variation in skin bacterial community structure in the context of the seasonal dynamics of fungal invasion, as well as the processes that drive such variation, remain largely unexplored. In this study, we characterized bat skin microbiota over the course of the bat hibernation and active season stages and used a neutral model of community ecology to determine the relative roles of neutral and selective processes in driving microbial community variation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBehavioral divergence among populations is common across taxonomic groups, still we know very little about anti-predator behaviors. Animal exposure to predation risk is variable in different ecological contexts. In addition, reproduction value of animals in different geographical regions usually varies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin acts as a mechanical barrier between the body and its surrounding environment and plays an important role in resistance to pathogens. However, we still know little regarding skin responses to physiological changes, particularly with regard to responses against potential pathogens. We herein executed RNA-seq on the wing of the to assess gene-expression variations at four physiological stages: pre-hibernation, hibernation (early-hibernation and late-hibernation), and post-hibernation, as well as the gene-expression patterns of infected and uninfected bats with the ().
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe echolocation calls of bats are mainly used for navigation and foraging; however, they may also contain social information about the emitter and facilitate social interactions. In this study, we recorded the echolocation calls of greater horseshoe bats () and analyzed the acoustic parameter differences between the sexes and among individuals. Then, we performed habituation-discrimination playback experiments to test whether greater horseshoe bats could recognize the sex and individual identity of conspecifics from their echolocation calls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn many vertebrates, vocal communication is crucial in parent-offspring interactions, and parents are often able to discriminate between the calls of their own and others' offspring. There are many reports on the unidirectional recognition of isolation calls of pups by maternal bats, but few studies on the ability of bat pups to recognize maternal acoustic signals. In this study, we investigated whether the echolocation pulses of female Asian particolored bats () and isolation calls of pups differ statistically among individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimals (Basel)
September 2022
Geographic variability in acoustic signals has been documented in many bird species. However, geographic variations in alarm calls have been so far neglected despite their crucial role on reducing risk to group members and relatives. We analyzed the note types and acoustic parameters of Japanese tit () alarm calls to three types of intruders (a nest predator, an adult predator, and a harmless species) from three populations in China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHost-associated skin bacteria are essential for resisting pathogen infections and maintaining health. However, we have little understanding of how chiropteran skin microbiota are distributed among bat species and their habitats, or of their putative roles in defending against in China. In this study, we characterized the skin microbiomes of four bat species at five localities using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to understand their skin microbial composition, structure, and putative relationship with disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In genus Rhinolophus, species in the Rhinolophus philippinensis and R. macrotis groups are unique because the horseshoe bats in these group have relatively low echolocation frequencies and flight speeds compared with other horseshoe bats with similar body size. The different characteristics among bat species suggest particular evolutionary processes may have occurred in this genus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe bats skin microbiota plays an important role in reducing pathogen infection, including the deadly fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of white-nose syndrome. However, the dynamic of skin bacterial communities response to environmental perturbations remains poorly described. We characterized skin bacterial community over time and space in Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, a species with high resistance to the infection with P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDetermining the evolutionary history and population drivers, such as past large-scale climatic oscillations, stochastic processes and ecological adaptations, represents one of the aims of evolutionary biology. is a common bat species in Southern China, including Hainan Island. We examined genetic variation in using mitochondrial DNA and nuclear microsatellites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhite-nose syndrome, a disease that is caused by the psychrophilic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has threatened several North America bat species with extinction. Recent studies have shown that East Asian bats are infected with P. destructans but show greatly reduced infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-frequency hearing is important for the survival of both echolocating bats and whales, but our understanding of its genetic basis is scattered and segmented. In this study, we combined RNA-Seq and comparative genomic analyses to obtain insights into the comprehensive gene expression profile of the cochlea and the adaptive evolution of hearing-related genes. A total of 144 genes were found to have been under positive selection in various species of echolocating bats and toothed whales, 34 of which were identified to be related to hearing behavior or auditory processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although the sensory drive hypothesis can explain the geographic variation in echolocation frequencies of some bat species, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still unclear. The three lineages of greater horseshoe bat () in China (northeast, central-east, and southwest) have significant geographic variation in resting frequencies (RF) of echolocation calls. Because their cochleae have an acoustic fovea that is highly sensitive to a narrow range of frequencies, we reported the transcriptomes of cochleae collected from three genetic lineages of , which is an ideal organism for studying geographic variation in echolocation signals, and tried to understand the mechanisms behind this bat phenomenon by analyzing gene expression and sequence variation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpecies delimitation and evolutionary reconstruction remain challenging for non-model species that have experienced reticulate evolution and exhibit conflicting patterns of differentiation among multiple lines of evidence, such as mitochondrial and nuclear data and phenotypes. Here, we applied an integrative taxonomic approach to a case study of Rhinolophus macrotis complex, whose taxonomic status remains controversial, to provide insight into the systematics and evolutionary history of these species. By integrating traditional genetic markers with different modes of inheritance, genome-wide SNPs as well as phenotypic characteristics, we clarified the presence of three closely related species, R.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPalaeoclimatic oscillations and different landscapes frequently result in complex population-level structure or the evolution of cryptic species. Elucidating the potential mechanisms is vital to understanding speciation events. However, such complex evolutionary patterns have rarely been reported in bats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBecause of its complicated systematics, the bent-winged bat is one of the most frequently studied bat species groups. In China, two morphologically similar bent-winged bat species, Miniopterus fuliginosus and Miniopterus magnater were identified, but their distribution range and genetic differentiation are largely unexplored. In this study, we applied DNA bar codes and two other mitochondrial DNA genes including morphological parameters to determine the phylogeny, genetic differentiation, spatial distribution, and morphological difference of the M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatterns of intraspecific geographic variation of signaling systems provide insight into the microevolutionary processes driving phenotypic divergence. The acoustic calls of bats are sensitive to diverse evolutionary forces, but processes that shape call variation are largely unexplored. In China, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum displays a diverse call frequency and inhabits a heterogeneous landscape, presenting an excellent opportunity for this kind of research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPostnatal changes in flight development, wing shape and wing bone lengths of 56 marked neonate Hipposideros pomona were investigated under natural conditions in southwest China. Flight experiments showed that pups began to flutter with a short horizontal displacement at 10 days and first took flight at 19 days, with most achieving sustained flight at 1 month old. Analysis of covariance on wingspan, wing area, and the other seven wing characteristics between 'pre-flight' and 'post-volancy' periods supports the hypothesis that growth had one 'pre-flight' trajectory and a different 'post-volancy' trajectory in bats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFForest management often has cumulative, long-lasting effects on wildlife habitat suitability and the effects may be impractical to evaluate using landscape-scale field experiments. To understand such effects, we linked a spatially explicit landscape disturbance and succession model (LANDIS) with habitat suitability index (HSI) models to assess the effects of management alternatives on habitat suitability in a forested landscape of northeastern China. LANDIS was applied to simulate future forest landscape changes under four management alternatives (no cutting, clearcutting, selective cutting I and II) over a 200-year horizon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith spatially explicit landscape model (LANDIS), the dynamic change of forest landscape in Youhao Forest Bureau in Xiaoxinganling Mountains from 2001-2201 under 5 planting proportions of coniferous and broadleaved species, i.e., 100% broadleaved species, 70% broadleaved and 30% coniferous species, 50% broadleaved and 50% coniferous species, 30% broadleaved and 70% coniferous species, and 100% coniferous species, was studied, taking the forest under natural regeneration after harvesting as the control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFYing Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao
May 2008
A spatially explicit landscape model LANDIS was applied to simulate the forest landscape changes under four management alternatives (no cutting, clear cutting, selective cutting I and II) in Youhao Forestry Bureau located in Small Xing' an Mountain from 2000 to 2200. The outcomes from LANDIS were combined with a landscape-level habitat suitability index (HSI) model in a GIS environment to assess Sciurus vulgaris habitat quality. The results showed that the increase of suitable habitat area and the decrease of marginally suitable area were the fastest under no cutting scenario, and the slowest under clear cutting scenario.
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