10 - Non-zoonotic disease (bats) Flashcards
Bats make up what % of all mammalian species? Order?
20%
Chiroptera
Smallest bat? Largest bat?
Smallest = kitti’s hog-nosed bat (bumblebee bat; 2g)
Largest = giant golden crowed flying fox (5’6” wingspan, fruit bat)
Suborders of chiroptera
- megachiroptera (flying foxes): fruit eating
- microchiroptera: echolocating
What do most bats eat?
70% are insectivores
Most of rest are fruit eaters
How many bat species in Canada
19-21
How many species of bats in US/Canada? What are the endangered spp? How many rely on hibernation?
45 species
Gray bat, big-eared bat, indiana bat, etc endangered
25% rely on hibernation
Bat lifespan and birth rate
> 20 year lifespan
Slow birth rate (=population recovery very slow)
Bat that pollinates agave plan
Mexican long-tongued bat
Nectar eater
Get tequila from distillation of juices from agave
Association between long-nosed bats and agave
Bat-plant association is so strong, the disappearance of one would threaten the survival of the other
Indirect effects of bats on one health
- pest control (echolocators)
- pollination
What is durian
One of the most important fruits of SE asia
Export value: 254 million USD
Pollinated primarily by bats
How do bats affect corn crops?
Important for predation of insects
Structures are inserted into corn fields and a net is put over corn plots in the evening and taken down during the day
Found that bat prey (insects) had a large impact on corn (more larva, damaged kernels)
How many insects are consumed by a colony of big brown bats in a year? How many by a little brown bat in a night?
1.5 million insects a year
4-8 g of insects each night
Value of bats per acre? To the US agriculture industry per year?
$12-$173/acre value in pest suppression
~22.9 billion/year value to US ag industry
Includes reduced cost of pesticide applications that are not needed
What is white-nosed syndrome? Caused by…
Emerging infectious disease
Affects hibernating cave-dwelling bats throughout NA
Caused by fungus (Pseudogymnoascus destructans)
Where did WNS emerge in NA?
New York state in 2006
Winter of 2006-07: ~10,000 bats dead and dying in four caves
Slides 25, 26
Spread in NA