Moscas ectoparasitas (Diptera, Streblidae) de morcegos (Mammalia, Chiroptera) em cavernas do nordeste do Brasil, com ênfase no bioma da Caatinga

Abstract

Cavities provide bats shelters, protection and stable conditions for reproduction and socialization. Among organisms associated with bats, bat flies are also favored by the cavity environment and are closely associated with these mammals, although biological aspects of this association are poorly understood. In particular, there is a lacune of comparative studies on the associations of cave bats assemblages and their bat flies in “hot caves” (“hot caves” or “cuevas calientes”, cavities with large populations of bats and unique conditions of temperature and humidity, among other characteristics) and “cold caves” (“cold caves or bat caves”, cavities with large populations of bats) including possible effects of the variation of these environments in these parasitic interactions. Therefore, the aim of this work was to characterize the interactions between bats and bat flies in caves and to assess whether they interactions vary in different types cavities in Northeast region of Brazil. Thus, we captured 700 bats in 16 caves belonging to 19 species six families, and a total of 1.412 bat flies distributed in 29 species. In Chapter I, we investigated published information on bat-fly interaction in roosts (i.e., caves, human constructions) at a global level and assessed patterns of co-authorship to identify trends in further studies. In Chapter II, we tested the effect of microclimatic variables and cave type (i.e., “hot” and “cold caves”) on streblids parasitism in bats in northeastern Brazil. Finally, in Chapter III, we describe and evaluate the structure of bat-fly interactions in “hot” and “cold caves” in the northeast region of Brazil.