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White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease caused by

We surveyed ectoparasite mite species in the Republic of Belarus. One tick species and seven mite species were collected; four of them were recorded for first time: Carios vespertilionis from Pipis...

To better understand the distribution and host-parasite relationships, we explored 12 large regions of Russia and recorded new bat fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera: Ischnopsyllidae) for Dagestan, Bashkiria, Mordovia, Khakassia and Buryatia Republics. Also we curate previously known data and registered new host-parasite associations for species belonging to genus Ischnopsyllus (Ischnopsyllus octactenus and I. variabilis ex Pipistrellus pygmaeus, I. intermedius ex Hypsugo savii, I. variabilis ex Myotis dasycneme, I. hexactenus ex Murina hilgendorfi) and species Myodopsylla trisellis. One of the associations we recorded in Altai republic is particularly interesting (Myodopsylla trisellis – Myotis blythii). Further investigation is required to study vector role of bat fleas and the effects of flea parasitism on their natural hosts.

Background Palearctic bats host a diversity of lyssaviruses, though not the classical rabies virus (RABV). As surveillance for bat rabies over the Palearctic area covering Central and Eastern Europe and Siberian regions of Russia has been irregular, we lack data on geographic and seasonal patterns of the infection. Results To address this, we undertook serological testing, using non-lethally sampled blood, on 1027 bats of 25 species in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Slovenia between 2014 and 2018. The indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detected rabies virus anti-glycoprotein antibodies in 33 bats, giving an overall seroprevalence of 3.2%. Bat species exceeding the seroconversion threshold included Myotis blythii, Myotis gracilis, Myotis petax, Myotis myotis, Murina hilgendorfi, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Vespertilio murinus. While Myotis species (84.8%) and adult females (48.5%) dominated in seropositive bats, juveniles of both sexes showed no difference in seroprevalence. Higher numbers tested positive when sampled during the active season (10.5%), as compared with the hibernation period (0.9%). Bat rabies seroprevalence was significantly higher in natural habitats (4.0%) compared with synanthropic roosts (1.2%). Importantly, in 2018, we recorded 73.1% seroprevalence in a cave containing a M. blythii maternity colony in the Altai Krai of Russia. Conclusions Identification of such “hotspots” of non-RABV lyssavirus circulation not only provides important information for public health protection, it can also guide research activities aimed at more in-depth bat rabies studies.

We recorded the following parasitic macronyssid mite species (Mesostigmata: Gamasina: Macronyssidae) from Northern Caucasus: Macronyssus leislerianus associated with the Leisler’s bat Nyctalus leis...

Parasitism is a widespread life-history strategy in nature. Despite the abundance of parasitic species, many aspects of their biology (e.g., population parameters, vulnerability degree, extinction possibility, and the need for protection) remain understudied. Parasites are perceived negatively (even by some scientists). This results in the underappreciation of the importance of parasites in the biosphere. In this review, we summarise modern views on the ecological, scientific and applied significance of parasites. According to literature review, parasitism is not considered as a strictly negative phenomenon. And parasites are recognised as significant components of the ecosystem similarly to free-living species. Prospects and extent of co-extinction of parasites with the hosts and the possible consequences of this phenomenon are discussed. Additionally, we discussed the problems and solutions associated with parasitic species conservation as well as recommendations on considering the status of protected species to several ectoparasite species.

The Caucasus is a large region in Eurasia consisting of four countries: Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Although it is one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world, the bat ectoparasite fauna has been poorly studied. To promotionally fill in the gaps regarding bat ectoparasites, we conducted five field surveys on bats and their ectoparasites at nine localities within the region between April 2016 and March 2021. Eight species and subspecies of spinturnicid mites were recorded over the surveys: Eyndhovenia euryalis oudemansi, Spinturnix acuminata acuminata, S. emarginata, S. myoti, S. nobleti, S. plecotina, S. psi, and S. punctata. Among them, three species, Spinturnix emarginata, S. nobleti and S. punctate, are newly recorded from the Caucasus region, and one each of subspecies and species, Eyndhovenia euryalis oudemansi and S. plecotina, are newly recorded from Georgia. In addition, Myotis tschuliensis was recorded as a new host species of S. myoti. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.

The family Macronyssidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) comprises mostly obligate blood-sucking ectoparasites of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) and some other animals, such as small mammals, reptiles and birds. Here, we document and curate previously known data, and, based on our extensive survey, provide this article of bat-associated macronyssid mites of the Russian Federation. We record a total of 24 mite species belonging to 4 genera (Ichoronyssus, Macronyssus, Steatonyssus, and Cryptonyssus). Twenty-seven new host-parasite associations are reported. In addition, were provide data on five major Russian regions, for which bat-associated mite records were lacking.

We assembled a checklist by documenting and curating previously published data as well as previously unpublished records of bat flies from the Russian Federation. A total of 20 bat fly species are listed, belonging to 4 genera. Basilia mongolensis nudior Hůrka, 1972 and Basilia nattereri (Kolenati, 1857) are recorded from Russia for the first time. The following new host associations are reported: Basilia mongolensis nudior ex Myotis nattereri (Kuhl), Basilia nattereri ex Eptesicus nilssonii (Keyserling & Blasius), Basilia rybini Hůrka, 1969 ex Myotis dasycneme (Boie) and Eptesicus nilssonii, and Nycteribia quasiocellata Theodor, 1966 ex Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus. We provide data on nine major Russian regions for which nycteribiid records were previously lacking.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonotic infection of worldwide occurrence. Bats, like other mammalian reservoirs, may be long-term carriers that maintain endemicity of infection and shed viable leptospires in urine. Direct and/or indirect contact with these Leptospira shedders is the main risk factor as regards public health concern. However, knowledge about bat leptospirosis in the Palearctic Region, and in Europe in particular, is poor. We collected urine from 176 specimens of 11 bat species in the Czech Republic, Poland, Republic of Armenia and the Altai Region of Russia between 2014 and 2019. We extracted DNA from the urine samples to detect Leptospira spp. shedders using PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA and LipL32 genes. Four bat species (Barbastella barbastellus n = 1, Myotis bechsteinii n = 1, Myotis myotis n = 24 and Myotis nattereri n = 1) tested positive for Leptospira spp., with detected amplicons showing 100% genetic identity with pathogenic Leptospira interrogans. The site- and species-specific prevalence range was 0%-24.1% and 0%-20%, respectively. All bats sampled in the Republic of Armenia and Russia were negative. Given the circulation of pathogenic leptospires in strictly protected Palearctic bat species and their populations, non-invasive and non-lethal sampling of urine for molecular Leptospira spp. detection is recommended as a suitable surveillance and monitoring strategy. Moreover, our results should raise awareness of this potential disease risk among health professionals, veterinarians, chiropterologists and wildlife rescue workers handling bats, as well as speleologists and persons cleaning premises following bat infestation.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans that is devastating to Nearctic bat populations but tolerated by Palearctic bats. Temperature is a factor known to be important for fungal growth and bat choice of hibernation. Here we investigated the effect of temperature on the pathogenic fungal growth in the wild across the Palearctic. We modelled body surface temperature of bats with respect to fungal infection intensity and disease severity and were able to relate this to the mean annual surface temperature at the site. Bats that hibernated at lower temperatures had less fungal growth and fewer skin lesions on their wings. Contrary to expectation derived from laboratory P. destructans culture experiments, natural infection intensity peaked between 5 and 6°C and decreased at warmer hibernating temperature. We made predictive maps based on bat species distributions, temperature and infection intensity and disease severity data to determine not only where P. destructans will be found but also where the infection will be invasive to bats across the Palearctic. Together these data highlight the mechanistic model of the interplay between environmental and biological factors, which determine progression in a wildlife disease.

The most complete data on the peculiarities of seasonal biology of gamasid mites of the genus Spinturnix, which are ectoparasites of bats of the boreal zone of the Old World, are presented. Data on the dynamics of the sex and age structure of superpopulations of parasites throughout the year are presented; the infestation of various bat species is analyzed, and the factors affecting it are discussed. The main differences between the life cycles of the boreal and subboreal Spinturnicidae mites were revealed.

Summary Specimens archived in wet collections represent valuable material for scientific research. Here, we show that bat fly (Diptera, Nycteribiidae) samples contain DNA of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a fungus pathogenic to bats. Using dual-probe quantitative PCR, we detected P. destructans DNA on bat flies collected in the Samara, Sverdlovsk and Irkutsk regions of Russia between 2005 and 2017. Fungal load was significantly lower on bat flies from wet collections than on freshly collected mites in the Czech Republic. The bat pathogen was present in the Samara region (European part of Russia) in 2005, that is, a year before recognition of white-nose syndrome in North America. As Samara and Irkutsk regions were identified as new positive locations of P. destructans, our data expand the known geographic distribution of P. destructans. We conclude that ethanol-stored ectoparasites can be used to identify the presence of pathogens in historic bat populations and understudied geographical regions.

The first attempt at identifying the faunal complexes of ectoparasites of Palaearctic bats is presented. Several approaches are used to estimate the distribution and dynamics of parasitocenoses of different host taxa in both latitudinal and meridional directions. Our analysis shows that the arid temperate zone is characterized by the highest number of species and the greatest taxonomic richness of bat ectoparasites in the Palaearctic. The results obtained reflect the phylogeography of the Palaearctic bat families and tribes.

This article presents one of the very few records of a macronyssid mite (Mesostigmata, Gamasina, Macronyssidae) infestation of vesper bats (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae). It is the first report of the influence of host parameters on the infestation of the parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus, by the mite Steatonyssus spinosus. It has been shown that the infestation varies considerably throughout the host's occupation of summer roosts and the highest infestation was observed in the post-lactation period. Female bats are infested significantly more intensively than male bats due to changes in their immune status during pregnancy and lactation. The infestation decreases in the period when the breeding colony disbands due to both roost switching and the intensification of grooming during this period. © Russian Journal Of Theriology, 2017.

Conservation genetics is important in the management of endangered species, helping to understand their connectivity and long-term viability, thus identifying populations of importance for conservation. The pond bat (Myotis dasycneme) is a rare species classified as “Near Threatened” with a wide but patchy Palearctic distribution. A total of 277 samples representing populations in Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Hungary, and Russia were used in the genetic analyses; 224 samples representing Denmark, Germany, and Russia were analyzed at 10 microsatellite loci; 241 samples representing all areas were analyzed using mitochondrial D-loop and cytochrome B sequences. A Bayesian clustering approach revealed two poorly resolved clusters, one representing the Danish and German groups and the other the Russian group. However, significantly different pairwise F ST and D EST estimates were observed between the Danish and German groups and between the Danish and Russian groups suggesting a recent population structure. These conflicting results might be attributed to the effect of migration or low resolution due to the number of microsatellite markers used. After concatenating the two mitochondrial sequences, analysis detected significant genetic differentiation between all populations, probably due to genetic drift combined with a founder event. The phylogenetic tree suggested a closer relationship between the Russian and Northern European populations compared to the Hungarian population, implying that the latter belongs to an older ancestral population. This was supported by the observed haplotype network and higher nucleotide diversity in this population. The genetic structuring observed in the Danish/German pond bat stresses the need for a cross-border management between the two countries. Further, the pronounced mtDNA structuring, together with the indicated migration between nearby populations suggest philopatric female behavior but male migration, emphasizes the importance of protecting suitable habitat mosaics to maintain a continuum of patches with dense pond bat populations across the species' distribution range.

Conservation genetics is important in the management of endangered species, helping to understand their connectivity and long‐term viability, thus identifying populations of importance for conservation. The pond bat (Myotis dasycneme) is a rare species classified as “Near Threatened” with a wide but patchy Palearctic distribution. A total of 277 samples representing populations in Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Hungary, and Russia were used in the genetic analyses; 224 samples representing Denmark, Germany, and Russia were analyzed at 10 microsatellite loci; 241 samples representing all areas were analyzed using mitochondrial D‐loop and cytochrome B sequences. A Bayesian clustering approach revealed two poorly resolved clusters, one representing the Danish and German groups and the other the Russian group. However, significantly different pairwise F ST and D EST estimates were observed between the Danish and German groups and between the Danish and Russian groups suggesting a recent population structure. These conflicting results might be attributed to the effect of migration or low resolution due to the number of microsatellite markers used. After concatenating the two mitochondrial sequences, analysis detected significant genetic differentiation between all populations, probably due to genetic drift combined with a founder event. The phylogenetic tree suggested a closer relationship between the Russian and Northern European populations compared to the Hungarian population, implying that the latter belongs to an older ancestral population. This was supported by the observed haplotype network and higher nucleotide diversity in this population. The genetic structuring observed in the Danish/German pond bat stresses the need for a cross‐border management between the two countries. Further, the pronounced mtDNA structuring, together with the indicated migration between nearby populations suggest philopatric female behavior but male migration, emphasizes the importance of protecting suitable habitat mosaics to maintain a continuum of patches with dense pond bat populations across the species' distribution range.

Background Spatiotemporal distribution patterns are important infectious disease epidemiological characteristics that improve our understanding of wild animal population health. The skin infection caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans emerged as a panzootic disease in bats of the northern hemisphere. However, the infection status of bats over an extensive geographic area of the Russian Federation has remained understudied. Results We examined bats at the geographic limits of bat hibernation in the Palearctic temperate zone and found bats with white-nose syndrome (WNS) on the European slopes of the Ural Mountains through the Western Siberian Plain, Central Siberia and on to the Far East. We identified the diagnostic symptoms of WNS based on histopathology in the Northern Ural region at 11° (about 1200 km) higher latitude than the current northern limit in the Nearctic. While body surface temperature differed between regions, bats at all study sites hibernated in very cold conditions averaging 3.6 °C. Each region also differed in P. destructans fungal load and the number of UV fluorescent skin lesions indicating skin damage intensity. Myotis bombinus, M. gracilis and Murina hilgendorfi were newly confirmed with histopathological symptoms of WNS. Prevalence of UV-documented WNS ranged between 16 and 76% in species of relevant sample size. Conclusions To conclude, the bat pathogen P. destructans is widely present in Russian hibernacula but infection remains at low intensity, despite the high exposure rate. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12917-018-1521-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The current paper presents new data on population dynamics of several gamasid mite species of the genus Macronyssus Kolenati, 1858 (Acari: Mesostigmata) during hibernation of their hosts, i.e. bats of the family Vespertilionidae. We revealed that the life cycle of macronyssids parasitising bats of the Siberian–Far Eastern chiropteral faunistic complex, e.g. eastern water bats Myotis petax, significantly differs from that of ectoparasites of bats of the European–Ural complex, e.g. pond bats Myotis dasycneme. Host preferences of ectoparasites of bats of the two complexes were also found to be different. Pond bat mites prefer well-fed hosts of both sexes, while mites parasitising the eastern water bat prefer female hosts irrespective of their body condition. We related these data to the history of bat settlements in Eurasia. For the first time, we note the possibility of macronyssid reproduction in hibernation shelters with temperature close to zero.

New records of ectoparasites from the eastern water bat Myotis petax Hollister, 1912, belonging to the Siberian-Russian Far Eastern complex and earlier regarded as the subspecies of the Daubenton’s bat Myotis daubentonii s. lato, are given. Previous records of ectoparasites of the eastern water bat (old interpretation of the species) are revised. Fourteen species of bloodsucking arthropods feed on M. petax; these species include 4, 3, and 7 species of gamasid mites, fleas, and bat flies, respectively.

A striking feature of white-nose syndrome, a fungal infection of hibernating bats, is the difference in infection outcome between North America and Europe. Here we show high WNS prevalence both in Europe and on the West Siberian Plain in Asia. Palearctic bat communities tolerate similar fungal loads of Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection as their Nearctic counterparts and histopathology indicates equal focal skin tissue invasiveness pathognomonic for WNS lesions. Fungal load positively correlates with disease intensity and it reaches highest values at intermediate latitudes. Prevalence and fungal load dynamics in Palearctic bats remained persistent and high between 2012 and 2014. Dominant haplotypes of five genes are widespread in North America, Europe and Asia, expanding the source region of white-nose syndrome to non-European hibernacula. Our data provides evidence for both endemicity and tolerance to this persistent virulent fungus in the Palearctic, suggesting that host-pathogen interaction equilibrium has been established.

This study was supported through a grant from the Czech Science Foundation (Grant No. P506-12-1064). We are grateful to Tomas Bartonicka, Hana Berkova and Masha Orlova for invaluable field assistance, to Matej Dolinay, Jiri C. Moravec, Patricia Pecnerova and Aneta Reichova for laboratory assistance and to Gregory G. Turner for biopsy samples from Nearctic bats. A striking feature of white-nose syndrome, a fungal infection of hibernating bats, is the difference in infection outcome between North America and Europe. Here we show high WNS prevalence both in Europe and on the West Siberian Plain in Asia. Palearctic bat communities tolerate similar fungal loads of Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection as their Nearctic counterparts and histopathology indicates equal focal skin tissue invasiveness pathognomonic for WNS lesions. Fungal load positively correlates with disease intensity and it reaches highest values at intermediate latitudes. Prevalence and fungal load dynamics in Palearctic bats remained persistent and high between 2012 and 2014. Dominant haplotypes of five genes are widespread in North America, Europe and Asia, expanding the source region of white-nose syndrome to non-European hibernacula. Our data provides evidence for both endemicity and tolerance to this persistent virulent fungus in the Palearctic, suggesting that host-pathogen interaction equilibrium has been established.

We investigated density dynamics of three bat flies species (Diptera, Nycteribiidae):Penicillidia monocerosSpeiser, 1900,Nycteribia quasiocellata(Theodor, 1966),Basilia rybini(Hurka, 1969) parasitized on two host species: pond bat,Myotis dasycneme(Boie, 1825), and eastern water bat,Myotis petaxHollister, 1912. Females ofM. dasycnemehave 3.4 (95 % CI 1.4–8.3) times higher odds of being infested, and in 2.4 (1.5–3.7) times higher average number ofP. monocerosthan males. Similarly, females ofM. petaxhave 1.7 (1.2–2.4) times higher density ofN. quasiocellataand/orB. rybini. We hypothesized an existence of host-sex-recognition mechanism in bat flies, providing it fine “ecological profit” due to sex-biased dispersal among adult host during wintering and the chance to infested a host offspring later (in summer). The decrease (due to mortality or emigration) in density of bat flies can be described as simple harmonic or S-shaped curve, and its “step” apparently corresponds to time of host pairing.

Forty-six chiropteran specimens from seven species have been captured on the territory of Southern Siberia. From them, 676 ectoparasites of 16 species (gamasid mites and insects) were collected. The bat fly Basilia mongolensis mongolensis Theodor, 1966 was found in Russia for the first time. The gamasid mites Spinturnix maedai Uchikawa et Wada, 1979 and Macronyssus hosonoi Uchikawa, 1979 have not previously been registered in Siberia. Several species have been recorded on new hosts. Three gamasid mite species of the genus Macronyssus are new to science. New data on the ecology of low-abundant and poorly studied bat species belonging to the Siberian-Far Eastern complex have been provided.