forest. We also calculated the evenness and dominance of each site and compared similarity in ove... more forest. We also calculated the evenness and dominance of each site and compared similarity in overall biodiversity and diversity within feeding guilds between sites. These data contribute to our knowledge of the bat community in the mosaic landscape of urban, agricultural and cerrado patches of Mato Grosso do Sul and the region in general. We conducted this study in three Cerrado fragments in and around the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, southwestern Brazil (Figure1). The climate is tropical wet and dry of the Köppen classification, with a dry winter and wet summer. The annual precipitation is 1500 mm and annual average temperature is 23°C . Within the city of Campo Grande, we sampled in a fragment of Cerrado surrounded by an urban matrix (FUrb) with an area of approximately 0.6 km² on the campus of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. Sampling was conducted between the coordinates 20°30′49″ S, 54°36′54″ W and 20°30′31″ S, 54°36′49″ W. The area sits at an elevation of approximately 490 m above sea level and is generally flat with a lake and a few streams. Vegetation is characterized by Cerrado sensu stricto, woodland with dense scrub and scattered trees, and areas of Cerradão, denser regrowth forest with a canopy at 8-15 m . The second site was a Cerrado fragments surrounded by an agricultural matrix (FRur) with an area of approximately 3 km² at the periphery of Campo Grande between the coordinates 20°30′16″ S, 54°32′46″ W and 20°31′06″ S, 54°30′43″ W, with an elevation of 530-550 m above sea level. The area is divided into small rural properties that are used for recreation, cattle-ranching, and agricultural
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Sep 11, 2022
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are principal vectors... more Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are principal vectors of antimicrobial resistance genes, greatly contributing to their spread and mobility across hosts. Nevertheless little is known about the dynamics of plasmid genetic exchange across animal hosts. The cow rumen ecosystem is an excellent model system because it hosts diverse plasmid communities which interact and exchange genes. Here, we use theory and methodology from network and disease ecology to investigate the potential of gene transmission between plasmids using a data-set of 21 plasmidomes from a single dairy cow population. We constructed a multilayer network based on pairwise genetic similarity between plasmids serving as a signature for past genetic exchange to identify potential routes and mechanisms of gene transmission within and between cows. The transmission network was dominated by links between cows. Modularity analysis unraveled a major cross-cow transmission pathway with additional small pathways. Plasmid functions influenced network structure: plasmids containing mobility genes were more connected; those with the same AMR genes formed their own modules. We find signatures of gene superspreading in which a few plasmids and cows are responsible for most gene exchange. An agent-based transmission model showed that a new gene invading the cow population is likely to reach all cows. Finally, we showed that link weights contain a non-random signature for the mechanisms of gene transmission allowing us to differentiate between dispersal and genetic exchange. These results provide insights into the mechanisms by which genes, including those providing AMR, spread across animal hosts.
Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats... more Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats and, potentially, to local extinctions. Understanding how multiple taxa respond to urbanisation globally is essential to promote and conserve biodiversity in cities and surrounding landscapes. Using a dataset with site-level occurrence and trait data of 5302 species from six terrestrial fauna taxonomic groups across 379 cities on 6 continents, we show that urbanisation produces taxon-specific changes in trait composition, with traits related to reproductive strategy consistently showing the strongest response. The effect of urbanisation on community trait composition is strongest at the largest spatial scale considered, and more closely linked to landscape composition (% urban) than arrangement (aggregation), although latitude and climatic variables remain a stronger influence. This study did not find evidence in support of a global urban taxa syndrome, but instead we suggest that there...
Having a central scientific language remains crucial for the advancement and global sharing of sc... more Having a central scientific language remains crucial for the advancement and global sharing of science. Nevertheless, maintaining one dominant language also creates barriers to accessing scientific careers and knowledge. From an interdisciplinary perspective, we describe how, when, and why to more readily make scientific literature available in multiple languages through the practice of translation. We broadly review the advantages and limitations of neural machine translation systems and propose that translation can serve as both a short- and long-term solution for making science more resilient, accessible, globally representative, and impactful beyond the academy. We outline immediate actions that individuals and institutions can take to support multilingual science and scientists, including structural changes that encourage and place additional value on translating scientific literature. In the long term, improvements to machine translation technologies and collective efforts to ...
Mountains provide important habitats for many species and often have high levels of biodiversity ... more Mountains provide important habitats for many species and often have high levels of biodiversity and endemism. Habitat associations of terrestrial small mammals were investigated at Wakefield Farm at the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa from July 2015 to January 2016. Sherman live traps were used to capture small mammals on 35 grids in six different habitats. A total of 472 individuals, from 14 species, were recorded, comprising: 10 rodents, three shrews and one golden mole. Species diversity differed across habitats and seasons. The riparian habitat had the highest species richness, diversity and abundance of small mammals. Species composition also differed across habitats with the indigenous forest and rocky outcrops supporting the most distinct assemblages.
Workshop for science writing, adapted from workshops given for the Student Conference on Conserva... more Workshop for science writing, adapted from workshops given for the Student Conference on Conservation Science in Tihány, Hungary (August 2020) and the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda (October 2021). Slide 75 - 80 "Examples from Reading" refers to the file Paper1_Fungi_draft.pdf included in these files. This document is an early draft version of "Characterization of fungi associated with the nasal hairs of Molossid bats", which is used an example in Slides 53 - 74. Article is also available at www.jtshapiro.com under "Publications." Bonus slides 108 - 130 are refer to / excerpted from Shapiro et al. (2020), "Response of bat activity to land cover and land use in savannas is scale-, season-, and guild-specific" in <em>Biological Conservation</em> (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108245). Also available at www.jtshapiro.com under "Publications."
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
Located in southwestern Brazil, the Pantanal is a Wetland of International Importance and Biosphe... more Located in southwestern Brazil, the Pantanal is a Wetland of International Importance and Biosphere reserve. It is composed of several subregions, each with distinct vegetation, and hosts diverse bat fauna. The goal of this study was to compare the bat communities between different subregions of the Pantanal, especially poorly sampled areas. From February 2008 to November 2009, we surveyed bats using mist nets at five sites with different vegetation structure and hydrology, over an area of 30,000 km2. Fecal samples were also collected. We captured 254 bats belonging to six families and 37 species: Phyllostomidae (19), Vespertilionidae (8), Molossidae (8), Noctilionidae (1), Emballonuridae (1) and Natalidae (1). The most abundant species was Artibeus planirostris (32%). The species reported in this study represent 60% of bat species recorded in Mato Grosso do Sul and 71% of species known from the Pantanal region of the state. We also highlight important records for the Pantanal, incl...
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are principal vectors... more Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are principal vectors of antimicrobial resistance genes, greatly contributing to their spread and mobility across hosts. Nevertheless little is known about the dynamics of plasmid genetic exchange across animal hosts. The cow rumen ecosystem is an excellent model system because it hosts diverse plasmid communities which interact and exchange genes. Here, we use theory and methodology from network and disease ecology to investigate the potential of gene transmission between plasmids using a data-set of 21 plasmidomes from a single dairy cow population. We constructed a multilayer network based on pairwise genetic similarity between plasmids serving as a signature for past genetic exchange to identify potential routes and mechanisms of gene transmission within and between cows. The transmission network was dominated by links between cows. Modularity analysis unraveled a major cross-cow transmission pathway wit...
The phylogenetic relationships and species limits within the chiropteran family Miniopteridae are... more The phylogenetic relationships and species limits within the chiropteran family Miniopteridae are poorly known in mainland Africa. Recent systematic studies in Madagascar have shown that this is a species-rich family, yet only eight species are currently recognized or hypothesized for continental Africa. Based on partial cytochrome b sequences and morphometric analysis, we describe a new species of Miniopterus that is endemic to a restricted, montane region of Liberia and Guinea. Furthermore, the taxonomic status of the West African Miniopterus schreibersii villiersi is resolved and shown to be a distinct species, M. villiersi, that is not closely related to M. schreibersii. Finally, the species M. inflatus is revealed to be paraphyletic, with the central African rainforest populations apparently not closely related to the savanna forms in eastern and southern Africa. Based on the results of this study, the number of Miniopterus species in Africa has increased from eight to 11, with more cryptic species likely to be discovered.
Behavior and personality play a crucial role in the evolution and ecology of animal species. We h... more Behavior and personality play a crucial role in the evolution and ecology of animal species. We have limited knowledge of bat personality traits, partially due to the time, equipment, and facilities needed to measure them. To help fill this gap, we developed a scale for quantifying aggressiveness in bats that can be used during ordinary fieldwork and handling by researchers. This scale is based on observations of the following ecologically relevant and easily observed behaviors in wild-captured bats during routine handling: amount and intensity of physical struggling, teeth-baring, and biting. We then applied this scale to 35 wild-caught individual bats belonging to three different species or species groups (Chaerephon pumilus, n=29; Scotophilus dinganii, n=3; and pipistrelloid bats, n=3) and measured agreement between observers using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). We found that agreement between observers was good to excellent. This scale of aggressiveness provides an ...
Tropical savannas are biomes of global importance that are under severe pressure from anthropogen... more Tropical savannas are biomes of global importance that are under severe pressure from anthropogenic change, including land-cover and land-use change. Bats, the second-most diverse group of mammals, are critical to ecosystem functioning, but may be vulnerable to such anthropogenic stresses. However, there is little information on the response of savanna bats to land-cover and land-use change, especially in Africa. This limits our ability to develop conservation strategies for bats and maintain the ecosystem functions and services they provide in this biome. Using acoustic monitoring, we measured how guild-specific (aerial, edge, and clutter forager) bat activity responded to both fine-scale metrics of vegetation structure and landscape-scale metrics of land-cover composition and configuration across the wet and dry seasons in a savanna in southern Africa undergoing rapid land-cover and land-use change. We found that all three guilds responded more strongly to landscape metrics than f...
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is a severely threatened biodiversity hotspot and many remnants exi... more The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is a severely threatened biodiversity hotspot and many remnants exist only as fragments. In order to understand how bat assemblage structure within a forest fragment surrounded by an urban matrix might respond to seasonality and different habitats, we sampled bats over 39 nights in the forest fragment of Gericinó-Mendanha Massif, Rio de Janeiro State. From February 2006 to January 2010, we captured 874 bats, belonging to 25 species and eight different feeding guilds. Frugivorous species were the most abundant, representing 83.33% of captures, and the gleaning insectivores were the least abundant (1.47%). We did not find changes in bat species composition between seasons, although capture rate was higher in the rainy season. However, we did find significant differences in species abundance between seasons. The habitat influence did not significantly differentiate the assemblages, but species richness was higher in the mature ombrophilous forest. The comm...
Secondary succession in former arable fields (i.e. old fields) might be altered by the colonizati... more Secondary succession in former arable fields (i.e. old fields) might be altered by the colonization of invasive alien species, with possible community-wide impacts, hindering the ability old fields to become species-rich communities. However, the effects of invasive species on local communities have rarely been addressed in the light of secondary succession. Therefore, we studied the impact of the highly invasive Solidago canadensis on plant and pollinator communities along a gradient of invasion severity in old fields with different ages (1-20 years since last ploughing) in Southern Transylvania, Romania. We asked whether the invasion of S. canadensis causes shifts in (1) the composition and diversity of plant communities, and (2) pollinator communities along the successional gradient. Further, we asked (3) to what extent the presence of S. canadensis affected flower visitation of native plant species by pollinators. According to our results, the invasion reduced the native plant species richness throughout succession, although the most profound negative effect on plant diversity and vegetation naturalness was exerted in older successional communities. The invasion of S. canadensis had a negative effect on the abundance of bees irrespective of the old field age; however, there was no similar negative effect on hoverflies. Native flowers experienced reduced visitation by wild bees, honey bees and hoverflies due to the augmented presence of S. canadensis. Therefore, the invasion of this perennial plant species diverts the trajectory of vegetation succession, alters the mutualistic links between the native elements of these old fields, and causes a non-desired alternative stable states to be installed.
Species of the genus Raymondia (Diptera: Streblidae) are obligate ectoparasites of bats. They hav... more Species of the genus Raymondia (Diptera: Streblidae) are obligate ectoparasites of bats. They have a wide distribution across Africa and are associated with many different bat species. Here we present the first record of this family in Swaziland. The ectoparasites were of the species Raymondia alulata and were found parasitizing individuals of the species Nycteris thebaica. We review the status of Raymondia species known in Africa, including specimen records, hosts, and host distributions and provide an updated identification key for species in this genus.
This article is to investigate the importance of the use of drawing as a visual poetic methodolog... more This article is to investigate the importance of the use of drawing as a visual poetic methodology in research in the visual arts. Drawings, sketches and visual notes can serve the artist-researcher to narrate his poetic journey as visual methodology. By means of a questionnaire answered by students-artists-researchers undergraduate and graduate visual arts, linked to the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), we note the importance of drawing in all its poetic route. The drawing, coupled with the writing, can be understood as one of the possibilities of poetic expression and realization of research in work in the field of art. So, we believe that the drawing must be considered and presented in poetic research, it is a registry key to understanding not only the process, but the result artistic of the artist--researcher.
Figure 1. The Rhind Papyrus (an Egyptian manuscript dating to the 2nd millennium BCE) is among th... more Figure 1. The Rhind Papyrus (an Egyptian manuscript dating to the 2nd millennium BCE) is among the earliest pieces of technical communication, and its static properties bear a striking resemblance to how we communicate scientific research in journals today.
We investigated the prevalence of coronaviruses in 44 bats from four families in northeastern Esw... more We investigated the prevalence of coronaviruses in 44 bats from four families in northeastern Eswatini using high-throughput sequencing of fecal samples. We found evidence of coronaviruses in 18% of the bats. We recovered full or near-full-length genomes from two bat species: Chaerephon pumilus and Afronycteris nana, as well as additional coronavirus genome fragments from C. pumilus, Epomophorus wahlbergi, Mops condylurus, and Scotophilus dinganii. All bats from which we detected coronaviruses were captured leaving buildings or near human settlements, demonstrating the importance of continued surveillance of coronaviruses in bats to better understand the prevalence, diversity, and potential risks for spillover.
Some of the world's deadliest diseases and greatest public health challenges are zoonoses from wi... more Some of the world's deadliest diseases and greatest public health challenges are zoonoses from wildlife, such as Ebola (Ebolavirus). Due to the increasing number of cases in recent years, it has been widely hypothesized that increasing human population densities and anthropogenic disturbance largely explain outbreaks of Ebola virus disease in humans. While studies indicate that ebolaviruses are likely hosted by bats (Chiroptera), their role in outbreaks of the disease remains unclear. We tested whether bat species richness (total and within families), human population density, and anthropogenic disturbance explained the occurrence of Ebola virus disease spillovers within Africa using both generalized linear models and Maxent models. We demonstrate that spillover occurred in areas with high species richness of nycterid bats and low levels of both anthropogenic disturbance and human population density. Outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have devastating effects on people and communities and our results provide an important step toward understanding how and where Ebola virus disease may spill over to human populations.
forest. We also calculated the evenness and dominance of each site and compared similarity in ove... more forest. We also calculated the evenness and dominance of each site and compared similarity in overall biodiversity and diversity within feeding guilds between sites. These data contribute to our knowledge of the bat community in the mosaic landscape of urban, agricultural and cerrado patches of Mato Grosso do Sul and the region in general. We conducted this study in three Cerrado fragments in and around the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, southwestern Brazil (Figure1). The climate is tropical wet and dry of the Köppen classification, with a dry winter and wet summer. The annual precipitation is 1500 mm and annual average temperature is 23°C . Within the city of Campo Grande, we sampled in a fragment of Cerrado surrounded by an urban matrix (FUrb) with an area of approximately 0.6 km² on the campus of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. Sampling was conducted between the coordinates 20°30′49″ S, 54°36′54″ W and 20°30′31″ S, 54°36′49″ W. The area sits at an elevation of approximately 490 m above sea level and is generally flat with a lake and a few streams. Vegetation is characterized by Cerrado sensu stricto, woodland with dense scrub and scattered trees, and areas of Cerradão, denser regrowth forest with a canopy at 8-15 m . The second site was a Cerrado fragments surrounded by an agricultural matrix (FRur) with an area of approximately 3 km² at the periphery of Campo Grande between the coordinates 20°30′16″ S, 54°32′46″ W and 20°31′06″ S, 54°30′43″ W, with an elevation of 530-550 m above sea level. The area is divided into small rural properties that are used for recreation, cattle-ranching, and agricultural
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Sep 11, 2022
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are principal vectors... more Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are principal vectors of antimicrobial resistance genes, greatly contributing to their spread and mobility across hosts. Nevertheless little is known about the dynamics of plasmid genetic exchange across animal hosts. The cow rumen ecosystem is an excellent model system because it hosts diverse plasmid communities which interact and exchange genes. Here, we use theory and methodology from network and disease ecology to investigate the potential of gene transmission between plasmids using a data-set of 21 plasmidomes from a single dairy cow population. We constructed a multilayer network based on pairwise genetic similarity between plasmids serving as a signature for past genetic exchange to identify potential routes and mechanisms of gene transmission within and between cows. The transmission network was dominated by links between cows. Modularity analysis unraveled a major cross-cow transmission pathway with additional small pathways. Plasmid functions influenced network structure: plasmids containing mobility genes were more connected; those with the same AMR genes formed their own modules. We find signatures of gene superspreading in which a few plasmids and cows are responsible for most gene exchange. An agent-based transmission model showed that a new gene invading the cow population is likely to reach all cows. Finally, we showed that link weights contain a non-random signature for the mechanisms of gene transmission allowing us to differentiate between dispersal and genetic exchange. These results provide insights into the mechanisms by which genes, including those providing AMR, spread across animal hosts.
Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats... more Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats and, potentially, to local extinctions. Understanding how multiple taxa respond to urbanisation globally is essential to promote and conserve biodiversity in cities and surrounding landscapes. Using a dataset with site-level occurrence and trait data of 5302 species from six terrestrial fauna taxonomic groups across 379 cities on 6 continents, we show that urbanisation produces taxon-specific changes in trait composition, with traits related to reproductive strategy consistently showing the strongest response. The effect of urbanisation on community trait composition is strongest at the largest spatial scale considered, and more closely linked to landscape composition (% urban) than arrangement (aggregation), although latitude and climatic variables remain a stronger influence. This study did not find evidence in support of a global urban taxa syndrome, but instead we suggest that there...
Having a central scientific language remains crucial for the advancement and global sharing of sc... more Having a central scientific language remains crucial for the advancement and global sharing of science. Nevertheless, maintaining one dominant language also creates barriers to accessing scientific careers and knowledge. From an interdisciplinary perspective, we describe how, when, and why to more readily make scientific literature available in multiple languages through the practice of translation. We broadly review the advantages and limitations of neural machine translation systems and propose that translation can serve as both a short- and long-term solution for making science more resilient, accessible, globally representative, and impactful beyond the academy. We outline immediate actions that individuals and institutions can take to support multilingual science and scientists, including structural changes that encourage and place additional value on translating scientific literature. In the long term, improvements to machine translation technologies and collective efforts to ...
Mountains provide important habitats for many species and often have high levels of biodiversity ... more Mountains provide important habitats for many species and often have high levels of biodiversity and endemism. Habitat associations of terrestrial small mammals were investigated at Wakefield Farm at the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa from July 2015 to January 2016. Sherman live traps were used to capture small mammals on 35 grids in six different habitats. A total of 472 individuals, from 14 species, were recorded, comprising: 10 rodents, three shrews and one golden mole. Species diversity differed across habitats and seasons. The riparian habitat had the highest species richness, diversity and abundance of small mammals. Species composition also differed across habitats with the indigenous forest and rocky outcrops supporting the most distinct assemblages.
Workshop for science writing, adapted from workshops given for the Student Conference on Conserva... more Workshop for science writing, adapted from workshops given for the Student Conference on Conservation Science in Tihány, Hungary (August 2020) and the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda (October 2021). Slide 75 - 80 "Examples from Reading" refers to the file Paper1_Fungi_draft.pdf included in these files. This document is an early draft version of "Characterization of fungi associated with the nasal hairs of Molossid bats", which is used an example in Slides 53 - 74. Article is also available at www.jtshapiro.com under "Publications." Bonus slides 108 - 130 are refer to / excerpted from Shapiro et al. (2020), "Response of bat activity to land cover and land use in savannas is scale-, season-, and guild-specific" in <em>Biological Conservation</em> (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108245). Also available at www.jtshapiro.com under "Publications."
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
Located in southwestern Brazil, the Pantanal is a Wetland of International Importance and Biosphe... more Located in southwestern Brazil, the Pantanal is a Wetland of International Importance and Biosphere reserve. It is composed of several subregions, each with distinct vegetation, and hosts diverse bat fauna. The goal of this study was to compare the bat communities between different subregions of the Pantanal, especially poorly sampled areas. From February 2008 to November 2009, we surveyed bats using mist nets at five sites with different vegetation structure and hydrology, over an area of 30,000 km2. Fecal samples were also collected. We captured 254 bats belonging to six families and 37 species: Phyllostomidae (19), Vespertilionidae (8), Molossidae (8), Noctilionidae (1), Emballonuridae (1) and Natalidae (1). The most abundant species was Artibeus planirostris (32%). The species reported in this study represent 60% of bat species recorded in Mato Grosso do Sul and 71% of species known from the Pantanal region of the state. We also highlight important records for the Pantanal, incl...
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are principal vectors... more Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to public health. Plasmids are principal vectors of antimicrobial resistance genes, greatly contributing to their spread and mobility across hosts. Nevertheless little is known about the dynamics of plasmid genetic exchange across animal hosts. The cow rumen ecosystem is an excellent model system because it hosts diverse plasmid communities which interact and exchange genes. Here, we use theory and methodology from network and disease ecology to investigate the potential of gene transmission between plasmids using a data-set of 21 plasmidomes from a single dairy cow population. We constructed a multilayer network based on pairwise genetic similarity between plasmids serving as a signature for past genetic exchange to identify potential routes and mechanisms of gene transmission within and between cows. The transmission network was dominated by links between cows. Modularity analysis unraveled a major cross-cow transmission pathway wit...
The phylogenetic relationships and species limits within the chiropteran family Miniopteridae are... more The phylogenetic relationships and species limits within the chiropteran family Miniopteridae are poorly known in mainland Africa. Recent systematic studies in Madagascar have shown that this is a species-rich family, yet only eight species are currently recognized or hypothesized for continental Africa. Based on partial cytochrome b sequences and morphometric analysis, we describe a new species of Miniopterus that is endemic to a restricted, montane region of Liberia and Guinea. Furthermore, the taxonomic status of the West African Miniopterus schreibersii villiersi is resolved and shown to be a distinct species, M. villiersi, that is not closely related to M. schreibersii. Finally, the species M. inflatus is revealed to be paraphyletic, with the central African rainforest populations apparently not closely related to the savanna forms in eastern and southern Africa. Based on the results of this study, the number of Miniopterus species in Africa has increased from eight to 11, with more cryptic species likely to be discovered.
Behavior and personality play a crucial role in the evolution and ecology of animal species. We h... more Behavior and personality play a crucial role in the evolution and ecology of animal species. We have limited knowledge of bat personality traits, partially due to the time, equipment, and facilities needed to measure them. To help fill this gap, we developed a scale for quantifying aggressiveness in bats that can be used during ordinary fieldwork and handling by researchers. This scale is based on observations of the following ecologically relevant and easily observed behaviors in wild-captured bats during routine handling: amount and intensity of physical struggling, teeth-baring, and biting. We then applied this scale to 35 wild-caught individual bats belonging to three different species or species groups (Chaerephon pumilus, n=29; Scotophilus dinganii, n=3; and pipistrelloid bats, n=3) and measured agreement between observers using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). We found that agreement between observers was good to excellent. This scale of aggressiveness provides an ...
Tropical savannas are biomes of global importance that are under severe pressure from anthropogen... more Tropical savannas are biomes of global importance that are under severe pressure from anthropogenic change, including land-cover and land-use change. Bats, the second-most diverse group of mammals, are critical to ecosystem functioning, but may be vulnerable to such anthropogenic stresses. However, there is little information on the response of savanna bats to land-cover and land-use change, especially in Africa. This limits our ability to develop conservation strategies for bats and maintain the ecosystem functions and services they provide in this biome. Using acoustic monitoring, we measured how guild-specific (aerial, edge, and clutter forager) bat activity responded to both fine-scale metrics of vegetation structure and landscape-scale metrics of land-cover composition and configuration across the wet and dry seasons in a savanna in southern Africa undergoing rapid land-cover and land-use change. We found that all three guilds responded more strongly to landscape metrics than f...
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is a severely threatened biodiversity hotspot and many remnants exi... more The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is a severely threatened biodiversity hotspot and many remnants exist only as fragments. In order to understand how bat assemblage structure within a forest fragment surrounded by an urban matrix might respond to seasonality and different habitats, we sampled bats over 39 nights in the forest fragment of Gericinó-Mendanha Massif, Rio de Janeiro State. From February 2006 to January 2010, we captured 874 bats, belonging to 25 species and eight different feeding guilds. Frugivorous species were the most abundant, representing 83.33% of captures, and the gleaning insectivores were the least abundant (1.47%). We did not find changes in bat species composition between seasons, although capture rate was higher in the rainy season. However, we did find significant differences in species abundance between seasons. The habitat influence did not significantly differentiate the assemblages, but species richness was higher in the mature ombrophilous forest. The comm...
Secondary succession in former arable fields (i.e. old fields) might be altered by the colonizati... more Secondary succession in former arable fields (i.e. old fields) might be altered by the colonization of invasive alien species, with possible community-wide impacts, hindering the ability old fields to become species-rich communities. However, the effects of invasive species on local communities have rarely been addressed in the light of secondary succession. Therefore, we studied the impact of the highly invasive Solidago canadensis on plant and pollinator communities along a gradient of invasion severity in old fields with different ages (1-20 years since last ploughing) in Southern Transylvania, Romania. We asked whether the invasion of S. canadensis causes shifts in (1) the composition and diversity of plant communities, and (2) pollinator communities along the successional gradient. Further, we asked (3) to what extent the presence of S. canadensis affected flower visitation of native plant species by pollinators. According to our results, the invasion reduced the native plant species richness throughout succession, although the most profound negative effect on plant diversity and vegetation naturalness was exerted in older successional communities. The invasion of S. canadensis had a negative effect on the abundance of bees irrespective of the old field age; however, there was no similar negative effect on hoverflies. Native flowers experienced reduced visitation by wild bees, honey bees and hoverflies due to the augmented presence of S. canadensis. Therefore, the invasion of this perennial plant species diverts the trajectory of vegetation succession, alters the mutualistic links between the native elements of these old fields, and causes a non-desired alternative stable states to be installed.
Species of the genus Raymondia (Diptera: Streblidae) are obligate ectoparasites of bats. They hav... more Species of the genus Raymondia (Diptera: Streblidae) are obligate ectoparasites of bats. They have a wide distribution across Africa and are associated with many different bat species. Here we present the first record of this family in Swaziland. The ectoparasites were of the species Raymondia alulata and were found parasitizing individuals of the species Nycteris thebaica. We review the status of Raymondia species known in Africa, including specimen records, hosts, and host distributions and provide an updated identification key for species in this genus.
This article is to investigate the importance of the use of drawing as a visual poetic methodolog... more This article is to investigate the importance of the use of drawing as a visual poetic methodology in research in the visual arts. Drawings, sketches and visual notes can serve the artist-researcher to narrate his poetic journey as visual methodology. By means of a questionnaire answered by students-artists-researchers undergraduate and graduate visual arts, linked to the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), we note the importance of drawing in all its poetic route. The drawing, coupled with the writing, can be understood as one of the possibilities of poetic expression and realization of research in work in the field of art. So, we believe that the drawing must be considered and presented in poetic research, it is a registry key to understanding not only the process, but the result artistic of the artist--researcher.
Figure 1. The Rhind Papyrus (an Egyptian manuscript dating to the 2nd millennium BCE) is among th... more Figure 1. The Rhind Papyrus (an Egyptian manuscript dating to the 2nd millennium BCE) is among the earliest pieces of technical communication, and its static properties bear a striking resemblance to how we communicate scientific research in journals today.
We investigated the prevalence of coronaviruses in 44 bats from four families in northeastern Esw... more We investigated the prevalence of coronaviruses in 44 bats from four families in northeastern Eswatini using high-throughput sequencing of fecal samples. We found evidence of coronaviruses in 18% of the bats. We recovered full or near-full-length genomes from two bat species: Chaerephon pumilus and Afronycteris nana, as well as additional coronavirus genome fragments from C. pumilus, Epomophorus wahlbergi, Mops condylurus, and Scotophilus dinganii. All bats from which we detected coronaviruses were captured leaving buildings or near human settlements, demonstrating the importance of continued surveillance of coronaviruses in bats to better understand the prevalence, diversity, and potential risks for spillover.
Some of the world's deadliest diseases and greatest public health challenges are zoonoses from wi... more Some of the world's deadliest diseases and greatest public health challenges are zoonoses from wildlife, such as Ebola (Ebolavirus). Due to the increasing number of cases in recent years, it has been widely hypothesized that increasing human population densities and anthropogenic disturbance largely explain outbreaks of Ebola virus disease in humans. While studies indicate that ebolaviruses are likely hosted by bats (Chiroptera), their role in outbreaks of the disease remains unclear. We tested whether bat species richness (total and within families), human population density, and anthropogenic disturbance explained the occurrence of Ebola virus disease spillovers within Africa using both generalized linear models and Maxent models. We demonstrate that spillover occurred in areas with high species richness of nycterid bats and low levels of both anthropogenic disturbance and human population density. Outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have devastating effects on people and communities and our results provide an important step toward understanding how and where Ebola virus disease may spill over to human populations.
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Papers by Julie Shapiro