Publications by authors named "Livia Leon-Paniagua"

Tequila bats (genus Leptonycteris) have gained attention for their critical role in pollinating different plant species, especially Agave spp. and columnar cacti. Leptonycteris nivalis is the largest nectar-feeding bat in the Americas, and the females exhibit migratory behavior during the breeding season.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigated mercury levels in small mammals from different dietary groups in the polluted Mezquital Valley of Central Mexico, highlighting the need to understand mercury's impact on wild populations.
  • - Researchers measured total mercury in the hair and liver of three species: a nectarivorous bat, an insectivorous bat, and a granivorous mouse, using atomic absorption spectrometry during different seasons.
  • - Results showed higher mercury levels in hair than in liver, consistent levels across species, and a seasonal variation in liver mercury concentrations, emphasizing the importance of ongoing monitoring and the role of these mammals as biomonitors.
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Background: The Central American (Mazama temama) and the Yucatán Peninsula brocket deer (Odocoileus pandora) are deer species with cryptic habits, and little is known about their biology. Odocoileus pandora is listed as Vulnerable on the 2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while M. temama is considered Data Deficient; however, it currently faces a decreasing population trend.

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The study of Acari associated with cricetid rodents in Mexico began at the end of the 1930s. Despite efforts to gathering the information, only listings were built, but none of these studies present an analysis of the available data. A search was made through electronic databases; in addition, some not published records contained at Collection of Laboratorio de Acarología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México were included in the inventory.

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The species group is considered "the most specialized" within the genus from morphological and ecological perspectives. Previous studies based on molecular data recommended changes in the taxonomy of the group. In particular, has been the most taxonomically questioned, with the suggestion that it constitutes a complex of cryptic species.

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The Central American brocket deer is a vulnerable species. Geographically isolated populations have been affected by poaching and habitat fragmentation, leading to local extinctions. It is therefore important to understand this species' habitat characteristics, particularly of resting sites, which play a crucial role in survival and fitness.

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The genus Borrelia encompasses 50 spirochetal species, several of which are pathogenic and have been detected in a wide range of mammals, especially rodents and cervids. Although the order Chiroptera is the second most diverse mammalian order, and borreliosis represents a human and veterinary health problem in endemic countries, few studies have previously reported infections of Borrelia in these flying mammals. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to detect the presence of, and to analyze the diversity of Borrelia species in several bat species from Mexico.

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Background: The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomids) exhibit a diverse spectrum of feeding habits and innovations in their nutrient acquisition and foraging mechanisms. However, the genomic signatures associated with their distinct diets are unknown.

Results: We conducted a genomic comparative analysis to study the evolutionary dynamics related to dietary diversification and specialization.

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Multiple species of viruses circulate in wild mammals, some of them potentially causing zoonosis. Most of the suspected viral zoonotic diseases affecting human patients remain unidentified with regard to their aetiological agent. The aim of this study is to summarize the state of knowledge of the viral richness associated with wild mammals in Mexico throughout 1900-2018 and their relationship with human cases.

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Osgoodomys banderanus is a recognized and endemic rodent species of western Mexico, an area known for its high biodiversity and number of endemisms. Phylogeographical relationships within this taxon were analyzed based on mitochondrial (ND3, tRNA-Arginine, ND4L and partial ND4) and nuclear (GHR) nucleotide sequences. We obtained a total of 112 samples from 22 localities, covering the complete distribution of the species.

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With 22 species, Sturnira is the most speciose genus of frugivorous Neotropical bats. Sturnira parvidens inhabits lowland tropical areas from Mexico to Central America. The elevation of this taxon to species level was recent, and discrepancies with respect to its geographic limits and phylogenetic position continue to exist.

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Background: is one of the most species-rich genera in the Neotropics, and it is found from Mexico and the Lesser Antilles to Argentina. This genus forms a well-supported monophyletic clade with at least twenty-one recognized species, as well as several others under taxonomic review. is a widespread frugivorous bat of the deciduous forests of the Neotropics, is highly abundant, and is a major component in fruit dispersal to regenerate ecosystems.

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The male and the tritonymph of are described for the first time parasitizing to from Yucatan, Mexico. Male of is characterized by the presence of legs I with the tibia and tarsus fused forming a small complex devoided of apical claws, legs II-IV with two claws, setae at level of anterior end of genital plate, genital plate rounded with an anterior projection, all intercoxal setae short; while the tritonymph is characterized by the presence of legs I unequal; legs II-IV with 2-1-1 claws, and posterior region of dorsal idiosoma with 3 pairs of cylindrical and toothed setae. Additionally, we include new locality and host records for which was also found on .

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Leptospira interrogans has been identified to cause leptospirosis, a widespread zoonotic disease that has been identified in domestic and wild animals. This work analyzed kidneys from two species of wild rodents from the state of Campeche, Mexico. Analyses were made by PCR using specific primers for detection of Leptospira interrogans DNA.

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A limited number of studies have focused on the population genetic structure of vampire bats (Desmous rotundus) in America. This medium-sized bat is distributed in tropical areas of the continent with high prevalence in forested livestock areas. The aim of this work was to characterize the vampire population structure and their genetic differentiation.

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Despite some studies of the species groups within the genus Peromyscus have been performed, both evolutionary relationships among species within groups and group composition have remained controversial. In this study, we address phylogenetic relationships among species in the Peromyscus melanophrys group (P. melanophrys, P.

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Mesoamerica is a biologically complex zone that expands from Southern Mexico to extreme Northern Colombia. The biogeographical patterns and relationships of the mammalian fauna associated to the Mesoamerican Tropical Evergreen Forest (MTEF) are poorly understood, in spite of the wide distribution of this kind of habitat in the region. We compiled a complete georeferenced database of mammalian species distributed in the MTEF of specimens from museum collections and scientific literature.

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A checklist of 44 species of sucking lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Anoplura) recorded in Mexico, belonging to nine genera in six families is given, together with a list of the 63 species of Mexican wild mammal hosts with which they are associated. Summaries of the known geographical records and host relationships for each louse species are presented for each Mexican state. Data were compiled from published and original records, including three new locality records from the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero.

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The arboreal mice of the genus Habromys (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Neotominae) are among the most poorly known Neotropical rodents. We investigated species-level phylogenetic relationships among the seven described Habromys species using 1331 aligned bases from the mitochondrial ND3 and ND4 regions. Sequences were obtained from 30 specimens of the seven known species of Habromys and we performed maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian probabilities analyses.

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