Do you have enough space? Habitat selection of insectivorous cave-dwelling bats in fragmented landscapes of Eastern Amazon.

Individual movements of bats are triggered by their life requirements, limited by their recognition of the environment and risks of moving, and mediated by habitat selection. Mining adds fragmentation and heterogeneity to landscapes, with poorly understood consequences to the life activities of the bats. Cave dwelling bats spend most of their life cycles within caves, and as they constantly forage in external landscapes, their contribution in the input of organic matter to the caves is of paramount importance to the subterranean biodiversity.

Ecotoxicology of heavy metal contamination of Neotropical bats.

Although bats are responsible for many ecosystem services on which humans depend, they are frequently exposed to multiple anthropogenic stressors. Heavy metal (HM) exposure is an emerging threat of great significance to bats, yet the toxicity threshold for most metallic elements remains unknown. The greatest diversity of bats worldwide is in the Neotropical region, where ecotoxicological studies are scarce.

Testis and brown adipose tissue xenografts from yellowish myotis (Myotis levis).

Yellowish myotis present a seasonal reproduction, influenced by rainfall distribution, in which the testis mass, germ cell composition, and brown adipose tissue mass change along the reproductive stages. In the present study, tissue xenografts were performed in immunodeficient mice to investigate spermatogenesis development in a stable endocrine milieu and the possible androgenic role of brown adipose tissue. Forty-one adult male bats were captured in the Santuário do Caraça, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Migratory testis, spermatogenesis and reproductive cycle of the neotropical broad-eared bat Nyctinomops laticaudatus (Molossidae).

We describe for the first time the displacement mechanism of migratory testis in Nyctinomops laticaudatus, which is little known in bats, in addition to histological analysis of its gonads. Data on testis anatomy and activity were obtained from 20 males. Males had migratory testes as they are displaced in the inguinal canals between intra and external abdominal positions.

Variation of dipteran ectoparasites (Streblidae) on Anoura geoffroyi Gray, 1838 (Phyllostomidae) in two caves in southeastern Brazil.

Bats are parasitized by many different arthropods, among which the dipteran families Nycteribiidae and Streblidae are exclusive to bats. Researches that relate the ecology of ectoparasites with their hosts are fundamental for understanding issues related to the interactions between these two groups, in addition to epidemiological aspects of pathogen transmission. The present study evaluated the rate of infestation by dipteran (Streblidae) ectoparasites in two colonies of Anoura geoffroyi associated with caves in the southeastern Brazil.