On the Fly: Tritrophic Associations of Bats, Bat Flies, and Fungi

Overview

Journal J Fungi (Basel)

Date 2020 Dec 16

PMID 33322768

Citations 3

Authors

Michiel D de Groot

Iris Dumolein

Thomas Hiller

Attila D Sandor

Tamara Szentivanyi

Menno Schilthuizen

M Catherine Aime

Annemieke Verbeken

Danny Haelewaters

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Parasitism is one of the most diverse and abundant modes of life, and of great ecological and evolutionary importance. Notwithstanding, large groups of parasites remain relatively understudied. One particularly unique form of parasitism is hyperparasitism, where a parasite is parasitized itself. Bats (Chiroptera) may be parasitized by bat flies (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea), obligate blood-sucking parasites, which in turn may be parasitized by hyperparasitic fungi, Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniomycetes). In this study, we present the global tritrophic associations among species within these groups and analyze their host specificity patterns. Bats, bat flies, and Laboulbeniales fungi are shown to form complex networks, and sixteen new associations are revealed. Bat flies are highly host-specific compared to Laboulbeniales. We discuss possible future avenues of study with regard to the dispersal of the fungi, abiotic factors influencing the parasite prevalence, and ecomorphology of the bat fly parasites.

Citing Articles

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