Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.

Environmental conditions, including anthropogenic disturbance, can significantly alter host and parasite communities. Yet, our current knowledge is based mainly on endoparasites, while ectoparasites remain little studied. We studied the indirect effects of anthropogenic disturbance (human population...

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Main Authors: Shai Pilosof, Carl W Dick, Carmi Korine, Bruce D Patterson, Boris R Krasnov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3400619?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-847959ac8a9a46b9a662f3ac1605c3682020-11-25T02:45:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0177e4148710.1371/journal.pone.0041487Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.Shai PilosofCarl W DickCarmi KorineBruce D PattersonBoris R KrasnovEnvironmental conditions, including anthropogenic disturbance, can significantly alter host and parasite communities. Yet, our current knowledge is based mainly on endoparasites, while ectoparasites remain little studied. We studied the indirect effects of anthropogenic disturbance (human population density) and climate (temperature, precipitation and elevation) on abundance of highly host-specific bat flies in four Neotropical bat species across 43 localities in Venezuela. We formulated a set of 11 a priori hypotheses that included a combination of the two effectors and host species. Statistically, each of these hypotheses was represented by a zero-inflated negative binomial mixture model, allowing us to control for excess zeros in the data. The best model was selected using Akaike's information criteria. Fly abundance was affected by anthropogenic disturbance in Artibeus planirostris, Carollia perspicillata and Pteronotus parnellii, but not Desmodus rotundus. Climate affected fly abundance in all bat species, suggesting mediation of these effects via the host or by direct effects on flies. We conclude that human disturbance may play a role in shaping bat-bat fly interactions. Different processes could determine fly abundance in the different bat species.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3400619?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Shai Pilosof
Carl W Dick
Carmi Korine
Bruce D Patterson
Boris R Krasnov
spellingShingle Shai Pilosof
Carl W Dick
Carmi Korine
Bruce D Patterson
Boris R Krasnov
Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Shai Pilosof
Carl W Dick
Carmi Korine
Bruce D Patterson
Boris R Krasnov
author_sort Shai Pilosof
title Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.
title_short Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.
title_full Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.
title_fullStr Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.
title_full_unstemmed Effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.
title_sort effects of anthropogenic disturbance and climate on patterns of bat fly parasitism.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2012-01-01
description Environmental conditions, including anthropogenic disturbance, can significantly alter host and parasite communities. Yet, our current knowledge is based mainly on endoparasites, while ectoparasites remain little studied. We studied the indirect effects of anthropogenic disturbance (human population density) and climate (temperature, precipitation and elevation) on abundance of highly host-specific bat flies in four Neotropical bat species across 43 localities in Venezuela. We formulated a set of 11 a priori hypotheses that included a combination of the two effectors and host species. Statistically, each of these hypotheses was represented by a zero-inflated negative binomial mixture model, allowing us to control for excess zeros in the data. The best model was selected using Akaike's information criteria. Fly abundance was affected by anthropogenic disturbance in Artibeus planirostris, Carollia perspicillata and Pteronotus parnellii, but not Desmodus rotundus. Climate affected fly abundance in all bat species, suggesting mediation of these effects via the host or by direct effects on flies. We conclude that human disturbance may play a role in shaping bat-bat fly interactions. Different processes could determine fly abundance in the different bat species.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3400619?pdf=render
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