The Experts below are selected from a list of 1521 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Gerald G Carter - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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do bats use guano and urine stains to find new roosts tests with three group living bats
Royal Society Open Science, 2020Co-Authors: Bridget K G Brown, Rachel A Page, Lauren Leffer, Yesenia Valverde, Nia Toshkova, Jessica Nystrom, Gerald G CarterAbstract:Many animals use social cues to find refuges. Bats can find roosts using the echolocation and social calls of conspecifics, but they might also use scent cues, a possibility which is less studied. The entrances of bat roosts are often marked by guano and urine, providing possible scent cues. We conducted eight experiments to test whether bats use the scent of guano and urine to find potential roosts. In field experiments, we tested if Molossus Molossus (velvety free-tailed bats) in Panama and Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bats) in Ohio would investigate artificial roost boxes that were scented with guano and urine more often than a paired unscented control. We did not detect any difference in flights near the scented versus unscented roosts, and we detected only one entrance into any artificial roost (scented). In six captive experiments, we tested for the attraction of Desmodus rotundus (common vampire bats) and Molossus Molossus to areas scented with guano and urine, under several conditions. Results were mixed, but overall suggested that the scent of guano and urine does not act as a strong lure for the tested bat species. We suggest that further tests of olfaction-based roost choice in bats should manipulate existing scent cues on familiar roosts.
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distress calls of a fast flying bat Molossus Molossus provoke inspection flights but not cooperative mobbing
PLOS ONE, 2015Co-Authors: Gerald G Carter, Diana Schoeppler, Marie Manthey, Mirjam Knornschild, Annette DenzingerAbstract:Many birds and mammals produce distress calls when captured. Bats often approach speakers playing conspecific distress calls, which has led to the hypothesis that bat distress calls promote cooperative mobbing. An alternative explanation is that approaching bats are selfishly assessing predation risk. Previous playback studies on bat distress calls involved species with highly maneuverable flight, capable of making close passes and tight circles around speakers, which can look like mobbing. We broadcast distress calls recorded from the velvety free-tailed bat, Molossus Molossus, a fast-flying aerial-hawker with relatively poor maneuverability. Based on their flight behavior, we predicted that, in response to distress call playbacks, M. Molossus would make individual passing inspection flights but would not approach in groups or approach within a meter of the distress call source. By recording responses via ultrasonic recording and infrared video, we found that M. Molossus, and to a lesser extent Saccopteryx bilineata, made more flight passes during distress call playbacks compared to noise. However, only the more maneuverable S. bilineata made close approaches to the speaker, and we found no evidence of mobbing in groups. Instead, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that single bats approached distress calls simply to investigate the situation. These results suggest that approaches by bats to distress calls should not suffice as clear evidence for mobbing.
Teague M Omara - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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heart rate reveals torpor at high body temperatures in lowland tropical free tailed bats
Royal Society Open Science, 2017Co-Authors: Teague M Omara, Sebastia Rikke, Marti Wikelski, Andries Ter Maa, Henry S PollockAbstract:Reduction in metabolic rate and body temperature is a common strategy for small endotherms to save energy. The daily reduction in metabolic rate and heterothermy, or torpor, is particularly pronounced in regions with a large variation in daily ambient temperature. This applies most strongly in temperate bat species (order Chiroptera), but it is less clear how tropical bats save energy if ambient temperatures remain high. However, many subtropical and tropical species use some daily heterothermy on cool days. We recorded the heart rate and the body temperature of free-ranging Pallas9 mastiff bats ( Molossus Molossus ) in Gamboa, Panama, and showed that these individuals have low field metabolic rates across a wide range of body temperatures that conform to high ambient temperature. Importantly, low metabolic rates in controlled respirometry trials were best predicted by heart rate, and not body temperature . Molossus Molossus enter torpor-like states characterized by low metabolic rate and heart rates at body temperatures of 32°C, and thermoconform across a range of temperatures. Flexible metabolic strategies may be far more common in tropical endotherms than currently known.
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no fever and leucocytosis in response to a lipopolysaccharide challenge in an insectivorous bat
Biology Letters, 2015Co-Authors: Sebastian Stockmaier, Dina K N Dechmann, Rachel A Page, Teague M OmaraAbstract:Bat immune systems may allow them to respond to zoonotic agents more efficiently than other mammals. As the first line of defence, the taxonomically conserved acute phase immune reaction of leucocytosis and fever is crucial for coping with infections, but it is unknown if this response is a key constituent to bat immunological success. We investigated the acute phase reaction to a standard lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge in Pallas's mastiff bats (Molossus Molossus). Challenged bats lost mass, but in contrast to other mammals showed no leucocytosis or fever. There also was no influence on body temperature reduction during torpor. When compared to recent genome-wide assays for constituent immune genes, this lack of a conserved fever response to LPS contributes to a clearer understanding of the innate immune system in bat species and of the coevolution of bats with a wide diversity of pathogens.
Livia O. Loureiro - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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does evolution of echolocation calls and morphology in Molossus result from convergence or stasis
PLOS ONE, 2020Co-Authors: Livia O. Loureiro, Mark D. Engstrom, Burton K. LimAbstract:Although many processes of diversification have been described to explain variation of morphological traits within clades that have obvious differentiation among taxa, not much is known about these patterns in complexes of cryptic species. Molossus is a genus of bats that is mainly Neotropical, occurring from the southeastern United States to southern Argentina, including the Caribbean islands. Molossus comprises some groups of species that are morphologically similar but phylogenetically divergent, and other groups of species that are genetically similar but morphologically distinct. This contrast allows investigation of unequal trait diversification and the evolution of morphological and behavioural characters. In this study, we assessed the role of phylogenetic history in a genus of bat with three cryptic species complexes, and evaluated if morphology and behavior are evolving concertedly. The Genotype by Sequence genomic approach was used to build a species-level phylogenetic tree for Molossus and to estimate the ancestral states of morphological and echolocation call characters. We measured the correlation of phylogenetic distances to morphological and echolocation distances, and tested the relationship between morphology and behavior when the effect of phylogeny is removed. Morphology evolved via a mosaic of convergence and stasis, whereas call design was influenced exclusively through local adaptation and convergent evolution. Furthermore, the frequency of echolocation calls is negatively correlated with the size of the bat, but other characters do not seem to be evolving in concert. We hypothesize that slight variation in both morphology and behaviour among species of the genus might result from niche specialization, and that traits evolve to avoid competition for resources in similar environments.
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single nucleotide polymorphisms snps provide unprecedented resolution of species boundaries phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity in the mastiff bats Molossus
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2020Co-Authors: Livia O. Loureiro, Mark D. Engstrom, Burton K. LimAbstract:Mammals are one of the better known groups of animals, and in the Neotropics bats typically comprise about half of the mammalian species diversity. But, well resolved species-level phylogenies are still lacking for most taxa of bats. One broadly distributed genus is the mastiff bats, Molossus. Species within this genus are morphologically very similar, which results in a confusing and unstable taxonomy. In addition, low levels of genetic divergence among some clades make resolution of phylogenetic relationships difficult. Most authors recognize Molossus as being monophyletic, however, phylogenetic relationships within the genus remain poorly understood based on traditional Sanger sequencing of individual genes. We propose a more comprehensive framework based on large-scale genomic data derived from Next Generation Sequencing techniques to better understand evolutionary relationships within a group of closely related species with a rich taxonomic history. In this study, we utilized the NGS method of Genotype by Sequencing (GBS) to test the monophyly of the genus, understand evolutionary relationships within Molossus and investigate the genetic integrity of currently recognized species. Given that both de novo and reference genome pipelines are often used in the assembly of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism data from GBS, and that several tree inference methodologies have been proposed for SNP data, we test whether different alignments and phylogenetic approaches produce similar results. We also examined how the process of SNP identification and mapping can affect the consistency of the analyses. Our data provide the first high resolution phylogeny for the genus Molossus, bringing new insights into recognition of species boundaries and relationships among taxa. This study clarifies the taxonomy of Molossus and elevates the number of species in the genus from 11 to 14. We suggest the revalidation of the names M. nigricans, and M. fluminensis, which were synonymized under the name M. rufus; and M. bondae, previously synonymized under the name M. currentium. Different alignments and phylogenetic inferences produce consistent results, supporting use of SNP approach in addressing evolutionary questions on a macroevolutionary scale where the genetic distance among clades is low.
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Molecular data on the CO1 and beta fibrinogen gene in the evolutionary relationships of the mastiff bat (Chiroptera, Molossidae, Molossus)
Elsevier, 2018Co-Authors: Livia O. Loureiro, Burton K. Lim, Mark D. EngstromAbstract:Molossus is one of the most diverse genera of free-tailed bats in the pantropical family Molossidae and occurs though all the Neotropics. Nevertheless, the taxonomy and phylogeny of this group is poorly understood. Here, we present the data on evolutionary relationships of Molossus based on DNA barcodes of COI gene from 346 specimens of Molossus and its sister genus Promops and another New World molossid Eumops. Of these specimens, 50 are new sequences and 296 were obtained from GenBank. In addition, the nuclear gene beta fibrinogen was sequenced from a subset of 35 specimens. These data provide the basis for further exploration and understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Molossus (Loureiro et al., 2018) [1]. Keywords: Molossidae, Phylogenetics, Neotropics, Evolutio
Dina K N Dechmann - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Table S2. Linear relationships between heart rate and body temperature from Heart rate reveals torpor at high body temperatures in lowland tropical free-tailed bats
2017Co-Authors: Teague M. O'mara, Marti Wikelski, Henry S Pollock, Sebastian Rikker, Andries Ter Maat, Dina K N DechmannAbstract:Heart rate (fH) and body temperature (Tb) of M. Molossus in respirometry and of free-ranging individuals in their roosts
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ESM Figure S2. Respirometry relationships between heart rate and temperature measures from Heart rate reveals torpor at high body temperatures in lowland tropical free-tailed bats
2017Co-Authors: Teague M. O'mara, Marti Wikelski, Henry S Pollock, Sebastian Rikker, Andries Ter Maat, Dina K N DechmannAbstract:The relationship between M. Molossus fH and Tb, Ta, and Tdiff. All temperature measures were weakly predictive of heart rate when accounting for inter-individual variability
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Figure S3. In-roost relationships between heart rate and temperature measures from Heart rate reveals torpor at high body temperatures in lowland tropical free-tailed bats
2017Co-Authors: Teague M. O'mara, Marti Wikelski, Henry S Pollock, Sebastian Rikker, Andries Ter Maat, Dina K N DechmannAbstract:In-roost measurements of fH and Tb (top) and Tdiff (bottom) weakly predict heart rate of M. Molossus in their natural roosts (R2c = 0.226 and 0.336, respectively)
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ESM Figure S1. Respirometry measures of Molossus Molossus from Heart rate reveals torpor at high body temperatures in lowland tropical free-tailed bats
2017Co-Authors: Teague M. O'mara, Marti Wikelski, Henry S Pollock, Sebastian Rikker, Andries Ter Maat, Dina K N DechmannAbstract:Metabolic rate (kJ hour-1: black line), heart rate (fH: red circles), body temperature (Tb: blue triangles) and ambient temperature (Ta: blue dotted line) of individual M. Molossus measured in open-flow respirometry
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ESM Table S1. Model selection from Heart rate reveals torpor at high body temperatures in lowland tropical free-tailed bats
2017Co-Authors: Teague M. O'mara, Marti Wikelski, Henry S Pollock, Sebastian Rikker, Andries Ter Maat, Dina K N DechmannAbstract:GLMM model selection to estimate energy consumption via heart rate (fH), body temperature (Tb) or the difference between Tb and Ta (Tdiff) in M. Molossus. Shown are the corrected AIC value (AICc), and the model R2 for fixed factors only (R2m) and conditional R2 with random effects included (R2c)
Mark D. Engstrom - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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does evolution of echolocation calls and morphology in Molossus result from convergence or stasis
PLOS ONE, 2020Co-Authors: Livia O. Loureiro, Mark D. Engstrom, Burton K. LimAbstract:Although many processes of diversification have been described to explain variation of morphological traits within clades that have obvious differentiation among taxa, not much is known about these patterns in complexes of cryptic species. Molossus is a genus of bats that is mainly Neotropical, occurring from the southeastern United States to southern Argentina, including the Caribbean islands. Molossus comprises some groups of species that are morphologically similar but phylogenetically divergent, and other groups of species that are genetically similar but morphologically distinct. This contrast allows investigation of unequal trait diversification and the evolution of morphological and behavioural characters. In this study, we assessed the role of phylogenetic history in a genus of bat with three cryptic species complexes, and evaluated if morphology and behavior are evolving concertedly. The Genotype by Sequence genomic approach was used to build a species-level phylogenetic tree for Molossus and to estimate the ancestral states of morphological and echolocation call characters. We measured the correlation of phylogenetic distances to morphological and echolocation distances, and tested the relationship between morphology and behavior when the effect of phylogeny is removed. Morphology evolved via a mosaic of convergence and stasis, whereas call design was influenced exclusively through local adaptation and convergent evolution. Furthermore, the frequency of echolocation calls is negatively correlated with the size of the bat, but other characters do not seem to be evolving in concert. We hypothesize that slight variation in both morphology and behaviour among species of the genus might result from niche specialization, and that traits evolve to avoid competition for resources in similar environments.
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single nucleotide polymorphisms snps provide unprecedented resolution of species boundaries phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity in the mastiff bats Molossus
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2020Co-Authors: Livia O. Loureiro, Mark D. Engstrom, Burton K. LimAbstract:Mammals are one of the better known groups of animals, and in the Neotropics bats typically comprise about half of the mammalian species diversity. But, well resolved species-level phylogenies are still lacking for most taxa of bats. One broadly distributed genus is the mastiff bats, Molossus. Species within this genus are morphologically very similar, which results in a confusing and unstable taxonomy. In addition, low levels of genetic divergence among some clades make resolution of phylogenetic relationships difficult. Most authors recognize Molossus as being monophyletic, however, phylogenetic relationships within the genus remain poorly understood based on traditional Sanger sequencing of individual genes. We propose a more comprehensive framework based on large-scale genomic data derived from Next Generation Sequencing techniques to better understand evolutionary relationships within a group of closely related species with a rich taxonomic history. In this study, we utilized the NGS method of Genotype by Sequencing (GBS) to test the monophyly of the genus, understand evolutionary relationships within Molossus and investigate the genetic integrity of currently recognized species. Given that both de novo and reference genome pipelines are often used in the assembly of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism data from GBS, and that several tree inference methodologies have been proposed for SNP data, we test whether different alignments and phylogenetic approaches produce similar results. We also examined how the process of SNP identification and mapping can affect the consistency of the analyses. Our data provide the first high resolution phylogeny for the genus Molossus, bringing new insights into recognition of species boundaries and relationships among taxa. This study clarifies the taxonomy of Molossus and elevates the number of species in the genus from 11 to 14. We suggest the revalidation of the names M. nigricans, and M. fluminensis, which were synonymized under the name M. rufus; and M. bondae, previously synonymized under the name M. currentium. Different alignments and phylogenetic inferences produce consistent results, supporting use of SNP approach in addressing evolutionary questions on a macroevolutionary scale where the genetic distance among clades is low.
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Molecular data on the CO1 and beta fibrinogen gene in the evolutionary relationships of the mastiff bat (Chiroptera, Molossidae, Molossus)
Elsevier, 2018Co-Authors: Livia O. Loureiro, Burton K. Lim, Mark D. EngstromAbstract:Molossus is one of the most diverse genera of free-tailed bats in the pantropical family Molossidae and occurs though all the Neotropics. Nevertheless, the taxonomy and phylogeny of this group is poorly understood. Here, we present the data on evolutionary relationships of Molossus based on DNA barcodes of COI gene from 346 specimens of Molossus and its sister genus Promops and another New World molossid Eumops. Of these specimens, 50 are new sequences and 296 were obtained from GenBank. In addition, the nuclear gene beta fibrinogen was sequenced from a subset of 35 specimens. These data provide the basis for further exploration and understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Molossus (Loureiro et al., 2018) [1]. Keywords: Molossidae, Phylogenetics, Neotropics, Evolutio
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species diversity of bats mammalia chiroptera in iwokrama forest guyana and the guianan subregion implications for conservation
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2001Co-Authors: Burton K. Lim, Mark D. EngstromAbstract:Fourteen species of bats are reported for the first time from Guyana (Saccopteryx gymnura, Micronycteris brachyotis, M. homezi, Lichonycteris obscura, Anoura latidens, Vampyressa pusilla, Vampyrodes caraccioli, Eptesicus chiriquinus, Cynomops paranus, Molossops neglectus, Molossus sp., Molossus coibensis, Molossus sinaloae, and Promops centralis) bringing the known bat diversity for the country to 121 species. Information including measurements, reproductive data, distribution, and taxonomy are provided for these species. Seven of these new records were collected in the Iwokrama International Rain Forest Programme site in central Guyana. Eighty-six bat species are now documented from Iwokrama Forest which is the highest species diversity for bats reported from any protected area in the world. There are, however, few tropical sites that have relatively complete inventories. A summary for bat species diversity in southern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana indicates that at least 146 species of bats are known from the Guianan subregion. Intense inventory surveys, especially in the often neglected subcanopy, suggest that species richness is probably underestimated in most Neotropical areas. Likewise, species-level diversity in the Guianan subregion is higher than previously suggested. Surveying and monitoring biodiversity are critical to developing a National Protected Areas System in Guyana.