Malagasy Bats Turn Tables On Parasites By Eating Them

The ecology of Malagasy bat ectoparasites having been little studied, the aim of this research was to produce new insights on the consumption of invertebrates—specifically flies of the families Nycteribiidae and Streblidae—via analysis of the fecal contents of the widespread bat species Rousettus madagascariensis (aka the “Madagascan rousette”). Steve and colleagues collected scat samples from individual Rousettus captured in a cave passage either during the early evening or early morning, and analyzed them to identify and quantify the arthropods they contained. The presence of fragments in the feces confirmed that this species consumes their dipteran ectoparasites—that is, bat flies. The team found that ingestion rates are higher for bats exiting the cave after dusk than those entering the cave at predawn, indicating that consumption rates are greater when bats are in the day roost site as compared to foraging outside the cave. They also found that the quantity of ectoparasite remains is related to the age of individual bats. Given that bat ectoparasites are known to be reservoirs of certain pathogens, the paper raises the question of whether these zoonotic diseases can be transmitted between bats via an oral route.
January 5. 2024