Rates of hematophagous ectoparasite consumption during grooming by an endemic Madagascar fruit bat

摘要

BackgroundFew details are available on the consumption of ectoparasites, specifically bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae and Streblidae), by their chiropteran hosts while grooming. Such details are important to document consumption rates of ectoparasites by their bat host provide details on the dynamics of host-parasite interactions. We present data on ectoparasite consumption rates for an endemic Malagasy fruit bat (Pteropodidae: Rousettus madagascariensis) occupying a cave day roost colony in northern Madagascar. Using quantified behavioral analyses, grooming and associated ingestion rates were measured from infrared videos taken in close proximity to day-roosting bats. The recorded individual bats could be visually identified to age (adult, juvenile) and sex (male, female), allowing analyses of the proportion of time these different classes allocated to consuming ectoparasites via auto-grooming (self) or allo-grooming (intraspecific) per 10 min video recording session. These figures could then be extrapolated to estimates of individual daily consumption rates.