Robust evidence for bats as reservoir hosts is lacking in most African virus studies: a review and call to optimize sampling and conserve bats.

Africa experiences frequent emerging disease outbreaks among humans, with bats often proposed as zoonotic pathogen hosts. We comprehensively reviewed virus-bat findings from papers published between 1978 and 2020 to evaluate the evidence that African bats are reservoir and/or bridging hosts for viruses that cause human disease. We present data from 162 papers (of 1322) with original findings on (1) numbers and species of bats sampled across bat families and the continent, (2) how bats were selected for study inclusion, (3) if bats were terminally sampled, (4) what types of ecological data, if any, were recorded and (5) which viruses were detected and with what methodology.

Female Java sparrows prefer high exploratory males without assortative mating.

A major challenge in behavior and evolutionary ecology is to understand the evolution and maintenance of animal personality. Theory suggests that females can benefit by choosing a high-quality mate, but largely ignores the potential interaction between male and female personality during mate choice. Here, we examined the influence of exploration on mate choice by captive female Java sparrows (Lonchura oryzivora).

Between roost contact is essential for maintenance of European bat lyssavirus type-2 in Myotis daubentonii bat reservoir: 'The Swarming Hypothesis'.

Many high-consequence human and animal pathogens persist in wildlife reservoirs. An understanding of the dynamics of these pathogens in their reservoir hosts is crucial to inform the risk of spill-over events, yet our understanding of these dynamics is frequently insufficient. Viral persistence in a wild bat population was investigated by combining empirical data and in-silico analyses to test hypotheses on mechanisms for viral persistence.

The movement ecology of the Mauritian flying fox (): a long-term study using solar-powered GSM/GPS tags.

Background: Flying foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) are large bats that often roost in the sun, hence solar-powered GPS/GSM devices can track their movements over extended periods. The endemic Mauritian flying fox () has recently been subjected to large-scale culling because of perceived damage to commercial fruit, and a consequent reduction in numbers of > 50% since 2015 resulted in its IUCN Red List Status being up-listed to Endangered. Determining its movements will be important for management and conservation, for understanding potential responses to environmental change, and for understanding population admixture.

Flying foxes create extensive seed shadows and enhance germination success of pioneer plant species in deforested Madagascan landscapes.

Seed dispersal plays a significant role in forest regeneration and maintenance. Flying foxes are often posited as effective long-distance seed dispersers due to their large home ranges and ability to disperse seeds when flying. We evaluate the importance of the Madagascan flying fox Pteropus rufus in the maintenance and regeneration of forests in one of the world's priority conservation areas.

Habitat Preferences of Soprano Pipistrelle (Leach, 1825) and Common Pipistrelle (Schreber, 1774) in Two Different Woodlands in North East Scotland.

The habitat preferences of the soprano pipistrelle and the common pipistrelle living in sympatry, were investigated in north east Scotland, using bat detector transects. Bat flight, foraging and social activity in natural birch woodland was compared with that in managed non-native coniferous woodland. Each area consists of riparian habitat, meadow-forest ecotone and dense forest.

Species undersampling in tropical bat surveys: effects on emerging biodiversity patterns.

Undersampling is commonplace in biodiversity surveys of species-rich tropical assemblages in which rare taxa abound, with possible repercussions for our ability to implement surveys and monitoring programmes in a cost-effective way. We investigated the consequences of information loss due to species undersampling (missing subsets of species from the full species pool) in tropical bat surveys for the emerging patterns of species richness (SR) and compositional variation across sites. For 27 bat assemblage data sets from across the tropics, we used correlations between original data sets and subsets with different numbers of species deleted either at random, or according to their rarity in the assemblage, to assess to what extent patterns in SR and composition in data subsets are congruent with those in the initial data set.

Immunohistochemical evidence of cone-based ultraviolet vision in divergent bat species and implications for its evolution.

We characterized Fos-like expression patterns in the primary visual cortex (V1) by binocular flicking stimulation with UV light to investigate cone-based UV vision in four bat species representing four lineages: Hipposideros armiger and Scotophilus kuhlii, insectivores using constant frequency (CF) or frequency modulation (FM) echolocation, respectively, and Rousettus leschenaultii and Cynopterus sphinx, cave-roosting and tree-roosting fruit bats, respectively. The optic centre processing the visual image, V1, appears more distinctly immunostaining in S. kuhlii and C.

White-nose syndrome: is this emerging disease a threat to European bats?

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a newly emergent disease that potentially threatens all temperate bat species. A recently identified fungus, Geomyces destructans, is the most likely causative agent of this disease. Until 2009, WNS and G.

The impact of conservation on the status of the world's vertebrates.

Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world's vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these.

Positive selection of the bat interferon alpha gene family.

Type I interferons (IFNs) are produced by leukocytes in reaction to pathogenic infection and function as positive mediators in antiviral pathways. Among IFNs, IFN alpha (IFNA) has the largest number of family members and plays an important role against the invasion of pathogens. Bats are putative and proven vectors for numerous viruses; however, the evolution of the IFNA family in bats has not been addressed.

A comparative study of prenatal development in Miniopterus schreibersii fuliginosus, Hipposideros armiger and H. pratti.

Background: Bats comprise the second largest order of mammals. However, there are far fewer morphological studies of post-implantation embryonic development than early embryonic development in bats.

Results: We studied three species of bats (Miniopterus schreibersii fuliginosus, Hipposideros armiger and H.

Distribution and ultrastructure of Merkel cell of the fishing bat (Myotis ricketti).

The distribution and ultrastructure of Merkel cells were described in detail in piscivorous bats through immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The findings indicated that Merkel cells are commonly found in raised-domes, hair follicles and in the basal epidermis of the skin from their back, abdomen, intercrural membranes, wing membranes and footpads. However, the density of Merkel cells is significantly higher in the footpad than in other places.

The aversive effect of electromagnetic radiation on foraging bats: a possible means of discouraging bats from approaching wind turbines.

Large numbers of bats are killed by collisions with wind turbines and there is at present no accepted method of reducing or preventing this mortality. Following our demonstration that bat activity is reduced in the vicinity of large air traffic control and weather radars, we tested the hypothesis that an electromagnetic signal from a small portable radar can act as a deterrent to foraging bats. From June to September 2007 bat activity was compared at 20 foraging sites in northeast Scotland during experimental trials (radar switched on) and control trials (no radar signal).

Molecular cloning and evolutionary analysis of hemoglobin alpha-chain genes in bats.

Bats are the only mammals with the capacity for powered flight. When flying, they need abundant energy and oxygen. According to previous works, the hemoglobin (Hb) oxygen loading function of bats is insensitive to variations in body temperature, although different bat species have different heat sensitivity.

Variations in the sequences of BMP2 imply different mechanisms for the evolution of morphological diversity in vertebrates.

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) plays an important role in skeletogenesis, osteoblastic differentiation and limb patterning. Its protein coding region consists of the signal peptide, the pro-domain (that regulates post-translational control of synthesis) and the mature domain (that carries out gene function). This gene has been considered previously to be conserved.