Najera-Cortazar Laura A, Keen Alex, Kitching Thomas, Stokes Drew, Goodman Simon J
School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds UK.
Present address: Vincent Wildlife Trust, Ledbury, Herefordshire UK.
Ecol Evol. 2023 Jan 31;13(2):e9645. doi: 10.1002/ece3.9645. eCollection 2023 Feb.
Parasites are integral parts of ecosystem function and important drivers of evolutionary processes. Characterizing ectoparasite diversity is fundamental to studies of host-parasite interactions, evolution, and conservation, and also for understanding emerging disease threats for some vector borne pathogens. With more than 1400 species, bats represent the second most speciose mammalian clade, but their ectoparasite fauna are poorly known for most species. We sequenced mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase C subunit I and nuclear 18S ribosomal gene fragments, and used Bayesian phylogenetic analyses to characterize ectoparasite taxon identity and diversity for 17 species of parasitized bats sampled along the Baja California peninsula and in Northwestern Mexico. The sequence data revealed multiple novel lineages of bat bugs (Cimicidae), flies (Nycteribiidae and Streblidae), and ticks (Argasidae). Within families, the new linages showed more than 10% sequence divergence, which is consistent with separation at least at the species level. Both families of bat flies showed host specificity, particularly on species. We also identified new records for the Baja peninsula of one tick (), and of five Streblid bat fly species. One Nycteribiid bat fly haplotype from Pallid bat () hosts was found throughout the peninsula, suggesting potential long distance co-dispersal with hosts. Different bat bug and tick communities were found in the north and south of the peninsula. This study is the first systematic survey of bat ectoparasites in the Baja California peninsula, revealing novel lineages that are highly genetically differentiated from other parts of North America. For some ectoparasite species, haplotype distributions may reflect patterns of bat migration. This work is a first step in characterizing ectoparasite diversity over the Baja California peninsula, and understanding how ecological and evolutionary interactions shape bat ectoparasite communities among host species in different parts of their ranges.
寄生虫是生态系统功能的重要组成部分，也是进化过程的重要驱动因素。表征体外寄生虫多样性是宿主 - 寄生虫相互作用、进化和保护研究的基础，对于理解某些媒介传播病原体的新出现疾病威胁也至关重要。蝙蝠有1400多种，是第二丰富的哺乳动物类群，但大多数蝙蝠物种的体外寄生虫动物群却鲜为人知。我们对线粒体细胞色素氧化酶C亚基I和核18S核糖体基因片段进行了测序，并使用贝叶斯系统发育分析来表征沿下加利福尼亚半岛和墨西哥西北部采集的17种受寄生蝙蝠的体外寄生虫分类单元身份和多样性。序列数据揭示了蝙蝠臭虫（蝙蝠蝽科）、苍蝇（蝠蝇科和蛛蝇科）和蜱（argasidae科）的多个新谱系。在科内，新谱系显示出超过10%的序列差异，这至少与物种水平的分离一致。两个蝙蝠蝇科都表现出宿主特异性，特别是在特定物种上。我们还确定了下加利福尼亚半岛一种蜱和五种蛛蝇科蝙蝠蝇物种的新记录。在整个半岛都发现了来自苍白蝙蝠宿主的一种蝠蝇科蝙蝠蝇单倍型，这表明它可能与宿主进行远距离共同扩散。在半岛的北部和南部发现了不同的蝙蝠臭虫和蜱群落。这项研究是下加利福尼亚半岛蝙蝠体外寄生虫的首次系统调查，揭示了与北美其他地区高度遗传分化的新谱系。对于一些体外寄生虫物种，单倍型分布可能反映了蝙蝠的迁徙模式。这项工作是表征下加利福尼亚半岛体外寄生虫多样性以及了解生态和进化相互作用如何塑造不同区域宿主物种间蝙蝠体外寄生虫群落的第一步。
