TY - JOUR
T1 - Relations between topography, feeding sites, and foraging behavior of the vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus
AU - Rocha, Felipe
AU - Ulloa-Stanojlovic, Francisco Miroslav
AU - Rabaquim, Vanessa Cristina Victor
AU - Fadil, Paulo
AU - Pompei, Júlio César
AU - Brandão, Paulo Eduardo
AU - Dias, Ricardo Augusto
AU - Ortega, Jorge
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Society of Mammalogists, www.mammalogy.org.
PY - 2020/2/21
Y1 - 2020/2/21
N2 - The vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) plays a crucial role in the maintenance and transmission of the rabies virus to humans and livestock, impacting public health and economic production. Its importance lies not only in its capacity to transmit the virus but also in its ability to adapt to anthropic changes, as expressed in its wide geographic distribution in Latin America. Deforestation, livestock intensification, and other human activities have reduced the abundance of its wild prey but have also provided new and abundant shelter and foraging resources for the vampire bats. We used radiotelemetry to evaluate relations between topography, feeding site choice, and foraging behavior in southeastern Brazil, where three occupied D. rotundus roosts, out of 11 possible, were systematically monitored throughout a 1-year period once every 2 months. Sixty-two vampire bats were captured; biometric data were collected and 44 radiotransmitters were installed in adult individuals, producing telemetry data that were recorded in VHF receptors installed in the farms. Elevation of the roosts was related to the farms attacked by the vampire bats. Understanding the use of the environment and resources by vampire bats is critical to improving rabies control aiming at the reduction of disease impacts. From the perspective of the official veterinary service, telemetry would be ineffective as a rabies surveillance system due to the costs and limitations of the available technology. However, livestock rabies control measures would be greatly improved if ecological characteristics of the vampire bat were considered.
AB - The vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) plays a crucial role in the maintenance and transmission of the rabies virus to humans and livestock, impacting public health and economic production. Its importance lies not only in its capacity to transmit the virus but also in its ability to adapt to anthropic changes, as expressed in its wide geographic distribution in Latin America. Deforestation, livestock intensification, and other human activities have reduced the abundance of its wild prey but have also provided new and abundant shelter and foraging resources for the vampire bats. We used radiotelemetry to evaluate relations between topography, feeding site choice, and foraging behavior in southeastern Brazil, where three occupied D. rotundus roosts, out of 11 possible, were systematically monitored throughout a 1-year period once every 2 months. Sixty-two vampire bats were captured; biometric data were collected and 44 radiotransmitters were installed in adult individuals, producing telemetry data that were recorded in VHF receptors installed in the farms. Elevation of the roosts was related to the farms attacked by the vampire bats. Understanding the use of the environment and resources by vampire bats is critical to improving rabies control aiming at the reduction of disease impacts. From the perspective of the official veterinary service, telemetry would be ineffective as a rabies surveillance system due to the costs and limitations of the available technology. However, livestock rabies control measures would be greatly improved if ecological characteristics of the vampire bat were considered.
KW - Desmodus rotundus
KW - rabies
KW - radiotelemetry
KW - vampire bat
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082091306&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jmammal/gyz177
DO - 10.1093/jmammal/gyz177
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85082091306
SN - 0022-2372
VL - 101
SP - 164
EP - 171
JO - Journal of Mammalogy
JF - Journal of Mammalogy
IS - 1
ER -