Title
Regulation of ectoparasite reproductive activity by the host reproductive cycle and dispersal strategy: case of Eucampsipoda madagascarensis (Nycteribiidae: Diptera) in Rousettus madagascariensis (Pteropodidae: Chiroptera)
Author(s)
Rajemison, Faneva I.;Noroalintseheno Lalarivoniaina, Oliva S.;Andrianarimisa, Aristide;Goodman, Steven M.
Published
2018
Publisher
Revue D Ecologie-La Terre Et La Vie
Abstract
This work presents details on the reproductive biology of the ectoparasitic fly, Eucampsipoda madagascarensis (Nycteribiidae), of Rousettus madagascariensis, a species of fruit bat endemic to Madagascar. The synchronization of the reproductive cycle of this ectoparasite with that of its host is highlighted. Data were collected on R. madagascariensis using a cave as a daytime roost in Ankarana National Park, in the extreme north of Madagascar. This roost was sampled on five occasions, three of which were at the end of the dry season (September 2014, 2015, and 2016), corresponding to the bat's mating season, and two during the rainy season (January 2015 and 2016), coinciding with the denning and suckling period. Of all R. madagascariensis individuals captured during the different visits (n = 1030), only one species of Nycteribiidae, E. madagascarensis (n = 5201), was identified. The majority of female Nycteribiidae collected during these two seasons were gravid. During the bat mating period (dry season), gravid female flies generally have no preference for either the male or female host. But during the whelping and nursing period (rainy season), gravid boreal flies parasitize mostly nursing female hosts. Male hosts with scrotal testes are more parasitized than those with abdominal testes by pregnant boreal owls during the mating period compared to the parturition and lactation period. We provide explanations for the reproductive strategy of the ectoparasite following the change in the physiological state of the host between these two reproductive periods. However, the dispersal strategy of the ectoparasites is not obvious if we take into account the possibility of dispersal of bats. Details are presented on the reproductive biology of a bat fly, Eucampsipoda madagascarensis (Nycteribiidae) parasitizing Rousettus madagascariensis, a fruit bat endemic to Madagascar, specifically to examine possible synchronization of the host-parasite reproductive cycles. Data were collected at a cave in the Parc National d'Ankarana, northern Madagascar, used by the bat species as a day roost site. Rousettus were sampled on five occasions, at the end of the dry season (September 2014, 2015 and 2016), corresponding to its mating period, and during the rainy season (January 2015 and 2016), coinciding with the birth season and lactation period. The only nycteribiid fly identified from captured R. madagascariensis (n = 1030) was E. madagascarensis (n = 5201). Female flies were gravid during both seasons. During the bat mating period (dry season), gravid female flies showed no preference for hosts in reproductive or non-reproductive states. During the lactation period (rainy season), gravid flies disproportionately parasitized lactating females. During the mating period, as compared to the lactation period, male bats with scrotal testes were more parasitized by gravid flies than those with abdominal testes. These observations are discussed in relationship to shifts in host physiological states between these two seasonal periods and ectoparasite reproduction strategies. No evidence was found of expanded fly reproductive activity during the period it is presumed that this fruit bat disperses.
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