| Title |
Laboulbeniales (Fungi: Ascomycota) infection of bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) from Miniopterus schreibersii across Europe
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Parasites & Vectors, July 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s13071-018-2921-6 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Tamara Szentiványi, Danny Haelewaters, Walter P. Pfliegler, Laura Clément, Philippe Christe, Olivier Glaizot |
| Abstract |
Bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) are obligate, blood-sucking ectoparasites of bats with specialized morphology, life-cycle and ecology. Bat flies are occasionally infected by different species of Laboulbeniales (Fungi: Ascomycota), microscopic fungal ectoparasites belonging to three genera: Arthrorynchus spp. are restricted to the Eastern Hemisphere, while species of Gloeandromyces and Nycteromyces occur on Neotropical bat flies. Little is known about the distribution and host specificity of Arthrorynchus spp. on bat flies. In this study, we focused on sampling bat flies from the cave-dwelling bat species Miniopterus schreibersii. Bat and ectoparasite collection took place in Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. Flies were inspected for Laboulbeniales infections. Six hundred sixty seven bat flies of five species were collected: Nycteribia latreillii, N. pedicularia, N. schmidlii, Penicillidia conspicua, and P. dufourii. Laboulbeniales infection was observed on 60 specimens (prevalence = 9%). Two Laboulbeniales species, Arthrorhynchus eucampsipodae and A. nycteribiae, were present on three bat fly species. All observations of A. eucampsipodae were on N. schmidlii, and A. nycteribiae was present on P. conspicua and P dufourii. Arthrorhynchus eucampsipodae is, for the first time, reported from Slovakia and Spain. Arthrorhynchus nycteribiae represents a new country record for Portugal and Slovakia. There were no significant differences among infection rates in different countries. Females of N. schmidlii showed a higher infection rate than males with an observable trend (P = 0.0502). No sex differences in infection rate for P. conspicua and P. dufourii were detected. Finally, thallus density was significantly lower in N. schmidlii compared to P. conspicua and P. dufourii. With this study, we contribute to the knowledge of the geographical distribution and host specificity of Laboulbeniales fungi associated with ectoparasitic bat flies within Europe. We discuss parasite prevalence and host specificity in the light of our findings and the available literature. Penicillidia conspicua is unambiguously the main host species for A. nycteribiae based on our and previous findings. Differences in parasite intensity and sex-biased infections of the fungi are possible depending on the species. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 7 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 3 | 43% |
| Canada | 1 | 14% |
| Unknown | 3 | 43% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Scientists | 3 | 43% |
| Members of the public | 3 | 43% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 14% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 38 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 38 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 8 | 21% |
| Researcher | 7 | 18% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 4 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 2 | 5% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 16 | 42% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 13 | 34% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 2 | 5% |
| Environmental Science | 1 | 3% |
| Computer Science | 1 | 3% |
| Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 19 | 50% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 03 February 2019.
All research outputs
#7,234,019
of 23,094,276 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#1,718
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Outputs of similar age
#123,548
of 327,553 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#54
of 149 outputs
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