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Hydrogen isotopes reveal evidence of migration of Miniopterus schreibersii in Europe

ABSTRACT: Background The Schreiber’s bat, Miniopterus schreibersii, is adapted to long-distance flight, yet long distance movements have only been recorded sporadically using capture-mark-recapture. In this study, we used the hydrogen isotopic composition of 208 wing and 335 fur specimens from across the species' European range to test the hypothesis that the species migrates over long distances. Results After obtaining the hydrogen isotopic composition (?2H) of each sample, we performed geographic assignment tests by comparing the ?2H of samples with the ?2H of sampling sites. We found that 95 bats out of 325 showed evidence of long-distance movement, based on the analysis of either fur or wing samples. The eastern European part of the species range (Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia) had the highest numbers of bats that had moved. The assignment tests also helped identify possible migratory routes, such as movement between the Alps and the Balkans. Conclusions This is the first continental-scale study to provide evidence of migratory behaviour of M. schreibersii throughout its European range. The work highlights the need for further investigation of this behaviour to provide appropriate conservation strategies.

SUBMITTER: Wright P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7526252 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundBat 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.ResultsSix 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.ConclusionsWith 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.

Project description:BackgroundTwo or more species are cryptic, if they are morphologically similar, biologically distinct, and misclassified as a single species. Cryptic species complexes were recently discovered within many bat species and we suspect that the bent-wing bat, Miniopterus schreibersii, found in Europe, northern Africa, and Asia Minor, could also form such a complex. Populations of M. schreibersii decline in most of the European countries and the species is currently listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List. Finding that M. schreibersii is not a single species, but a species complex, would have a considerable impact on its conservation strategies, as the abundance of each component taxon would be much smaller than the one estimated for the nominal species.ResultsMiniopterus schreibersii in Asia Minor consists of two genetically diverged lineages, which are reciprocally monophyletic on three mitochondrial DNA markers, have a diagnostic set of multilocus allele frequencies, and show a marked difference in their population structures. The lineages differ slightly in their size, wing shape, and echolocation call parameters. Although these differences are sufficient to discriminate between the lineages, they are not fully diagnostic in reference to individuals. We suggest that the lineages endured the major Northern Hemisphere glaciations in different glacial refugia and colonized Asia Minor after the last glacial maximum. The lineages are allopatric, which is neither delineated by the presence of geographical barriers nor associated with the specific climatic conditions, and which we link to competitive exclusion.ConclusionsThe distinctions between the lineages comply with most of the criteria required for species delineation imposed by various species concepts. Accordingly, we conclude that M. schreibersii in Asia Minor is represented by two cryptic species. Our results imply that the distributional range of the nominal species is almost exclusively limited to Europe and the coastal zones of Asia Minor. As populations of M. schreibersii seem to be much smaller than currently assumed, conservation strategies regarding this taxon need to be revised. The exact distributional range and the vulnerability of the suggested sister species to M. schreibersii is yet to be assessed.

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Hydrogen isotopes reveal evidence of migration of Miniopterus schreibersii in Europe

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