Dados do Trabalho

TÍTULO

CO-OCCURRENCE OF ECTOPARASITES ON PHYLLOSTOMID BATS IN THE MUNICIPAL NATURAL PARK OF CURIO, RIO DE JANEIRO STATE, BRAZIL

Resumo

Studies on bat ectoparasites have been separately performed for mite and dipteran groups. However, a complete inquiry about ectoparasites and their hosts is required to better understand the host-ectoparasite associations and co-occurrence between ectoparasites. The aim of this study was to report the species of phyllostomid bat ectoparasites (Insecta and Arachnida), emphasizing the co-occurrences of these ectoparasites on their hosts in the Curió Municipal Natural Park, Rio de Janeiro State. This Park comprises an Atlantic Forest remnant located in the municipality of Paracambi, metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil (22º33’ to 22º36’S, 43º40’ to 43º43’W). Samplings were performed twice a month from September 2011 to September 2012. Bats were mist netted from the sunset to the sunrise and placed in cotton bags to collect the ectoparasites. We caught 850 bats, of which 283 (33%) were parasitized with a total of 23 ectoparasite species. Streblidae was the richest ectoparasite family with 16 species, followed by Spinturnicidae with four species. Nycteribiidae, Sarcoptidae and Trombiculidae presented one species only. Among the dipteran species and their hosts, the most frequent associations were between Trichobius joblingi (Streblidae) (N=287) and Carollia perspicillata (N=81), and Paratrichobius longicrus (Streblidae) (N = 115) and Artibeus lituratus (N=59), respectively.  Considering mite species, the most frequent associations were between Periglischrus iheringi (Spinturnicidae) (N = 252 and 51, respectively) and its two hosts A. lituratus (N=64) and Artibeus fimbriatus (N=13). This last mite species co-occurred with many other ectoparasite species, such as Megistopoda aranea, Aspidoptera phyllostomatis, Paratrichobius longicrus and Periglischrus caligus. Streblidae species co-occurred with other Streblidae, Spinturnicidae and Sarcoptidae species. Trichobius joblingi co-occurred with Chirnyssoides amazonae (Sarcoptidae), Trichobius anducei, Strebla guajiro, Trichobius dugesii and Paraeucteunodes similis. We record for the first time the co-occurrence of T. joblingi, T. anducei and C. amazonae on C. perspicillata in Rio de Janeiro State. Neotrichobius delicatus, Strebla chrotopteri, Strebla wiedemanni, T. dugesii, Trichobius lonchophyllae, Trichobius tiptoni and Trichobius longipes were not recorded co-occurring with other species. We also record for the first time for the Rio de Janeiro State Strebla chrotopteri, on Chrotopterus auritus. Studies in diptera and mites in association with bats are quite scare, being the majority in the literature referring only the presence of Streblidae flies. This probably be due to the reduced number of specialists in both groups. The new records highlighted here show that the study of bat ectoparasites is not exhausted, and that more samples should be taken at various points in the Mata Atlântica biome or ecosystems not only in Rio de Janeiro but throughout Brazil.

Palavras-chave

Acari, Chiroptera, host-ectoparasite association, Insecta, new records

Financiamento

CAPES e FAPERJ