Cimex pipistrelli (Heteroptera, Cimicidae) and the dispersal propensity of bats: an experimental study
Language English Country Germany Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- MeSH
- Chiroptera parasitology physiology MeSH
- Behavior, Animal * MeSH
- Host-Parasite Interactions * MeSH
- Population Dynamics MeSH
- Bedbugs physiology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
Previous results have shown frequent movements of crevice-dwelling bats between different shelters. Low roost fidelity of some dwelling bat species reduces the reproductive success of ectoparasites. The question of whether high densities of bat bugs (Cimex pipistrelli) represent a cost for crevice-dwelling bats (Pipistrellus pygmaeus), resulting in roost switching, has been examined. Sessions in a volary equipped with two bat boxes were carried out. One of the boxes was loaded with ectoparasites (low and high densities), the other served as a control and new roost for bats, which left the loaded box. Differences in the level of bat self-grooming, movements inside experimental boxes, and leaving the boxes between experiments with bat bugs and controls were significant. Allogrooming was observed only in few cases; therefore, the hypothesis of cooperation among individual bats in defense against bat bugs was rejected. Experiments with artificial parasitation, when bugs were added to a bat roost, showed that leaving a confined roost infested by bat bugs, i.e., roost switching, is a natural reaction of crevice-dwelling bat species, which reduces parasite load.
See more in PubMed
Oecologia. 2007 Dec;154(3):581-8 PubMed
Parasitology. 1994;109 Suppl:S139-51 PubMed
Z Parasitenkd. 1955;17(1):41-73 PubMed
Parasitol Res. 2006 Feb;98(3):237-43 PubMed
J Hyg (Lond). 1941 Dec;41(4):345-461 PubMed
J Med Entomol. 2002 Jul;39(4):675-9 PubMed
J Exp Biol. 1995 Jul;198(Pt 7):1519-26 PubMed
Parasitol Res. 2007 May;100(6):1323-30 PubMed
Evolution. 1993 Aug;47(4):1152-1160 PubMed
Proc Biol Sci. 2001 Oct 7;268(1480):2071-5 PubMed
Bat bugs (Cimex pipistrelli) and their impact on non-dwelling bats
Survival rate of bat bugs (Cimex pipistrelli, Heteroptera) under different microclimatic conditions
