1. Habitat fragmentation and haemoparasites in the common fruit bat, Artibeus jamaicensis (Phyllostomidae) in a tropical lowland forest in Panamá.
- Author
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Cottontail VM, Wellinghausen N, and Kalko EK
- Subjects
- Animals, Chiroptera classification, Chiroptera physiology, Conservation of Natural Resources, DNA, Protozoan analysis, Filariasis epidemiology, Filariasis parasitology, Filariasis veterinary, Filarioidea genetics, Filarioidea isolation & purification, Host-Parasite Interactions, Microscopy, Electron, Panama, Population Dynamics, Prevalence, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Trypanosoma genetics, Trypanosomiasis epidemiology, Trypanosomiasis parasitology, Blood parasitology, Chiroptera parasitology, Ecosystem, Trees, Tropical Climate, Trypanosoma isolation & purification, Trypanosomiasis veterinary
- Abstract
Anthropogenic influence on ecosystems, such as habitat fragmentation, impacts species diversity and interactions. There is growing evidence that degradation of habitats favours disease and hence affects ecosystem health. The prevalence of haemoparasites in the Common Fruit Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) in a tropical lowland forest in Panamá was studied. We assessed the relation of haemoparasite to the general condition of the animals and tested for possible association of haemoparasite prevalence to habitat fragmentation, with special focus on trypanosomes. Overall, a total of 250 A. jamaicensis sampled from fragmented sites, here man-made, forested islands in Lake Gatùn, and sites in the adjacent, continuous forest in and around the Barro Colorado Nature Monument were examined. Using microscopy and DNA-sequencing 2 dominant types of haemoparasite infections, trypanosomes and Litomosoides (Nematoda) were identified. Trypanosome prevalence was significantly higher in bats from forest fragments, than in bats captured in continuous forest. We attribute this to the loss of species richness in forest fragments and specific characteristics of the fragments favouring trypanosome transmission, in particular changes in vegetation cover. Interestingly, the effect of habitat fragmentation on the prevalence of trypanosomes as multi-host parasites could not be observed in Litomosoides which probably has a higher host specificity and might be affected less by overall diversity loss.
- Published
- 2009
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