Relative population densities and predation of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) in natural and cattle-raising areas in north-east Argentina

doi:10.1016/0167-5877(92)90080-Y

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

Volume 14, Issues 1–2, October 1992, Pages 13-20

https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-5877(92)90080-Y Get rights and content

Abstract

Studies were carried out to determine the relative population density and predation of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) in both natural and cattle-raising ecosystems in north-east Argentina. Relative censuses with nets were used to study the population density, while predation was estimated by direct observation. In the cattle-raising ecosystem, the vampire bat population is almost two times larger than in the natural ecosystem. The vampire preys on cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and poultry in proportion to the availability of these domestic species. The capture in both ecosystems of a larger proportion of males confirms that each sex has different patterns of activity and suggests the existence of division of work.

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With the largest population at risk, the number of cases could increase. According to Delpietro et al. (1992), the greater population density in a livestock ecosystem increases the number of groups of vampire bats due to their greater feeding performance, which allows to increase the number of individuals in a bat colony. However, as previously mentioned, population density is important, but it is not decisive for the increase in the number of cases in horses, since the vaccination status of animals may reflect the incidence of cases.
In Brazil, the horse is frequently used in cultural activities, sports, and in rural and urban work, implementing the economy in different social classes. Among the diseases in horses with zoonotic potential, rabies has been neglected in the country, increasing the risk of spreading the disease across borders. The present study evaluated the spatiotemporal distribution and temporal trend of rabies in horses in Brazil between 2010 and 2019. During this period, 1290 cases of rabies were detected in horses in Brazil, mainly in the states of São Paulo (21.7%) and Mato Grosso (13.3%). However, Espírito Santo stood out, with an incidence risk (IR) of 139.7 cases of rabies per 100,000 horses. The years 2013 and 2017 had higher peaks of IR for the disease, and the states that contributed to this increase were Mato Grosso, São Paulo, and Espírito Santo. There was no monthly seasonality of the disease among the states. The temporal trend revealed an increase for the northeastern region (Annual Percentage Change [APC]: 8.9%) and for Alagoas State (APC: 26.6%). In the spatiotemporal analysis, three high-risk clusters were formed: (i) cluster A (Relative Risk [RRs]: 6.21), involving only Minas Gerais, between 2017 and 2019; (ii) cluster B (RRs: 6.18), involving only Mato Grosso, between 2011 and 2013; and (iii) cluster C (RRs:4.71), involving the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, between 2010 and 2014. Only the states of Roraima and Amapá had no cases of equine rabies during the study period. Therefore, rabies in horses occurs in all Brazilian regions, with areas at high risk of infection concentrated in the Southeast. However, attention should be directed to the north-eastern and northern states, where notifications were infrequent, with an unknown risk in relation to the spread of rabies to transboundary regions. This is the first study evaluating the interstate distribution of rabies in equine species in regions of Brazil.
Threshold dynamics of a bat-borne rabies model with periodic incubation periods
2021, Nonlinear Analysis: Real World Applications
Bat-borne rabies is a viral infection caused by lyssaviruses. To explore the complex interaction between bats and cattle, we develop a periodic compartment system with seasonality, temperature-dependent incubation period and different control measures. We derive the basic reproduction number $R_{0}$ and show it determines the global dynamics. In particular, we prove the non-existence of positive periodic solutions in the critical case where $R_{0} = 1$ . Numerically, we observe that sufficient long time-varying incubation periods could potentially increase the disease outbreak risk.
Management of vampire bats and rabies: a precaution for rewilding projects in the Neotropics
2021, Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation
Changes in animal population dynamics and community composition following species (re)introduction may have unanticipated consequences for a variety of downstream ecosystem processes, including infectious disease transmission. Due the lessons learned from ongoing projects, we present a novel approach on how to anticipate, monitor, and mitigate the vampire bats and rabies in rewilding projects. We pinpoint a series of precautions and the need for long-term monitoring of vampire bats and rabies responses to rewilding projects and highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary teams of scientist and managers focusing on prevention educational program of rabies risk transmitted by bats. In addition, monitoring the relative abundance of vampire bats, considering reproductive control by sterilization and oral vaccines that autonomously transfer among bats would reduce the probability, size and duration of rabies outbreaks. The rewilding assessment framework presented here responds to calls to better integrate the science and practice of rewilding and will help conservation practitioners and researchers to develop effective message framing strategies that minimize bats emerging infectious diseases and support biodiversity and its associated ecosystem services.
Trophic guild and forest type explain phyllostomid bat abundance variation from human habitat disturbance
2021, Global Ecology and Conservation
Citation Excerpt :
We expected hematophagous bats to be tolerant to secondary forests, crops, and mixed habitats with crops and grasslands. This is because the proximity of these types of disturbance to human settlements and their domestic animals represents a potential source of food for these bats and allow the establishment and even increased their abundance (Delpietro et al., 1992; Bobrowiec et al., 2015). Conversely, we expected carnivorous and insectivorous bats to be sensitive to all types of habitat disturbance, since deforestation that precedes every disturbance type promotes a reduction in prey and refuges sites, which causes lower abundance of these bats, or even their absence in disturbed habitats (Bernard and Fenton, 2003; Jones et al., 2017).
The loss of tropical forest cover caused by land-use change is causing changes in populations of animal trophic guilds, including those belonging to Phyllostomidae bat species. They fulfill important ecosystem functions such as pollination, seed dispersion, and regulations of vertebrate and invertebrate populations in Neotropical forests and human disturbed habitats. However, the effect of habitat disturbance on the abundance of phyllostomid bats is still controversial, and it is unknown if this effect presents a phylogenetic signal, or if this abundance is influenced by the type of forest where the disturbance occurs or by the distance between disturbed habitat and conserved forest. In order to answer these new questions, an exhaustive literature review was performed followed by a series of meta-analyzes. We found 26 studies from which 829 cases (i.e. species observations; k) were extracted. Each case reported the number of individuals captured in the disturbed habitat and in the conserved forest. As effect size, the bat proportion in disturbed habitats was used. We did not use phylogenetic correction in the meta-analysis because we did not find a phylogenetic signal in the bat proportion in disturbed habitats. We found that omnivorous, carnivorous, insectivorous and hematophagous bats were sensitive to habitat disturbance, while phytophagous were tolerant. In addition, the type of habitat disturbance and the type of forest where it occurs explain the differences of bat abundance within each trophic guild. Finally, there was no effect of the type of crop, the age of the secondary forest, and the distance to a conserved forest on trophic guild bat abundance in disturbed habitats. These results could focus the conservation efforts of phyllostomid bats and the ecosystem services they provide in both anthropogenic and conserved habitats.
Bat rabies
2020, Rabies: Scientific Basis of the Disease and Its Management, Fourth Edition
The infection of bats with rabies has been described for decades. Rabies is caused by members of the lyssavirus genus and currently 16 different lyssaviruses have been defined. Bat rabies in the New World is predominantly associated with vampire bats across Central and South America although with the elimination of terrestrial rabies in North America, human infection following exposure from rabid insectivorous bats continues to be reported. In contrast, classical bat rabies appears absent in the Old World; bat rabies instead being caused by a broad range of genetically distinct lyssaviruses that are absent from the Americas. Characterization of lyssaviruses has demonstrated a gap in existing rabies vaccines in their ability to induce neutralizing antibodies against several divergent lyssaviruses and as such new vaccines may be warranted in future. Here we detail both the current situation with bat rabies in the Americas, as well as causative agents of rabies in bats in the Old World and discuss existing knowledge gaps and future perspectives for working with these important zoonotic viral pathogens.
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Preventive Veterinary Medicine

Abstract

References (23)

Epidemiología de la rabia bovina paralítica transmitida por los quirópteros

Bol. Of. Sanit. Panam.

Preferencia de la predación del vampiro en relación a la edad y la raza del ganado y la época del año

Téc. Pecu.

Catálogo de los mamíferos de América del Sur

Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat., Cienc. Zool.

Regiones fitogeográficas Argentinas

Ecología de la Comunidad de Mamíferos del Parque Nacional de Iguazú

Misiones. Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat., Ecol.

Observaciones ecológicas del vampiro (Desmodus rotundus rotundus) (Geoffroy) en el norte de Córdoba.

Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat., Cienc. Zool.

Anwendung von Warfarin in der Republik Argentinien zur Bekämpfung von Vampiren (Desmodus rotundus) (Geoffroy)

Nyctalus (NF)

Densidad poblacional del vampiro común (Desmodus rotundus) en las tierras que afectará el Embalse de Yaciretá

Vet. Argent.

Predación de ganado y aspectos poblacionales, ecológicos y etológicos del vampiro común (Desmodus rotundus) en valles y estribaciones precordilleranas del noroeste argentino

Rev. Med. Vet.

Vampire bat control in the Americas: review and proposed program for action

Pan Am. Health Organ. Bull.

Cited by (63)

Geographical and temporal spread of equine rabies in Brazil

Threshold dynamics of a bat-borne rabies model with periodic incubation periods

Management of vampire bats and rabies: a precaution for rewilding projects in the Neotropics

Trophic guild and forest type explain phyllostomid bat abundance variation from human habitat disturbance

Bat rabies

Modeling of Human Rabies Cases in Brazil in Different Future Global Warming Scenarios