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We detected 3 lyssaviruses in insectivorous bats sampled in South Africa during 2003-2018. We used phylogenetic analysis to identify Duvenhage lyssavirus and a potentially new lyssavirus, provisionally named Matlo bat lyssavirus, that is related to West Caucasian bat virus. These new detections highlight that much about lyssaviruses remains unknown.

Abstract Molecular identification of fungal species associated with insectivorous bats provides critical insights into their role as reservoirs of fungi, including potential pathogens. This is the first study to performed molecular identification of fungal species in insectivorous bats captured from the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil. Aspergillus sydowii and Penicillium crustosum were frequently isolated from Myotis sp., with P. crustosum also dominating samples from Molossus molossus, alongside Aspergillus subalbidus. Cladosporium spp. were prevalent in Eptesicus diminutus, while Sarocladium was uniquely associated with Tryroptera tricolor. Notably, several identified species are known pathogens of humans, animals, and plants. Fungal species in bats remain poorly understood, representing a significant gap in the field of fungal ecology. This gap is particularly notable in Brazilian biomes, where research on this topic is still scarce. Efforts should focus on minimizing habitat loss for bats and mitigating forest disturbances to reduce their interactions with humans, crops, and other animals. Such measures are essential to prevent the dispersal of fungal pathogen spores and safeguard ecological and public health. Resumo A identificação molecular de espécies de fungos associadas a morcegos insetívoros fornece informações críticas sobre o seu papel como reservatórios de fungos, incluindo potenciais patógenos. Este é o primeiro estudo a realizar a identificação molecular de espécies fúngicas em morcegos insetívoros capturados na Mata Atlântica do sul do Brasil. Aspergillus sydowii e Penicillium crustosum foram frequentemente isolados de Myotis sp., com P. crustosum também presente em amostras obtidas de Molossus molossus, juntamente com Aspergillus subalbidus. Cladosporium spp. foram predominantes em Eptesicus diminutus, enquanto Sarocladium foi associado exclusivamente com Tryroptera tricolor. Notavelmente, várias espécies identificadas são conhecidos patógenos de humanos, animais e plantas. As espécies de fungos em morcegos permanecem pouco compreendidas, representando uma lacuna significativa no campo da ecologia fúngica. Essa lacuna é particularmente notável nos biomas brasileiros, onde as pesquisas sobre o tema ainda são escassas. Os esforços devem centrar-se na minimização da perda de habitat dos morcegos e na mitigação das perturbações florestais para reduzir as suas interações com seres humanos, culturas e outros animais. Tais medidas são essenciais para prevenir a dispersão de esporos de fungos patógenos e salvaguardar a saúde pública e ecológica.

Most bat species depend on forests for roosting, foraging, and drinking during part or all of their life cycles. Many of the world's forests are managed using a variety of silvicultural treatments and, over the past 40 years, researchers have studied the responses of bats to these treatments. I carried out a qualitative synthesis of the literature on roosting and foraging responses of temperate insectivorous bats to silvicultural treatments at the stand level to determine what treatments may be most compatible with conservation and to guide future research. Eighty-eight studies from Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, met review criteria. Based on my results, foraging and commuting habitat use was less affected by changes in forest structure and composition than roost habitat use. Mid-rotation treatments that reduce clutter while retaining overstory structure (e.g., thinning and fire) had more neutral and positive effects than treatments that removed all or most of the overstory. Based on an examination of the methods and assumptions of the 88 studies included in this review, I conclude that future studies should: 1) strive to account for treatment effects on detection probability of bats when using acoustic detectors; 2) examine responses of bats to silvicultural treatments outside the maternity season; 3) examine demographic and physiological responses to silvicultural treatments in addition to habitat use to fully understand the effects of these treatments on bat populations; and 4) use stand-level data to model forest management effects across large landscapes and over long time periods.

Rabies virus (RABV) causes a fatal infection in the central nervous system of mammals. RABV circulates through two different epidemiological cycles—terrestrial and aerial—with bats being the natural reservoir of the aerial cycle. In Patagonia, only variants (V) associated with insectivorous bats have been detected. The aim of this study was to assess the diversity of circulating RABV variants in bats from Central Patagonia, Argentina. Fifty-six samples of seven bat species from eleven localities in Chubut province were analyzed using a direct immunofluorescence and biological assay, while antigenic variants were determined using an indirect immunofluorescence test. Twelve samples tested positive for RABV (>21%). Variants V4 and V6 were identified in samples of T. brasiliensis and L. varius, respectively. The remaining positive samples did not exhibit any antigenic pattern previously identified in Argentina. These samples were associated with H. macrotus, H. magellanicus, H. montanus, and L. varius. Our results confirm RABV circulation in over 71% of the bat species analyzed and in over 63% of the localities assessed. We recommend maintaining active surveillance at both local and regional levels to ensure the early detection of cases and transmission risks, which is crucial for disease prevention and control.

The South American hoary bat, Lasiurus villosissimus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1806), is a vespertilionid bat, endemic to South America and occurring in all countries except Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname. It is one of the four species included in the subgenus Aeorestes. Lasiurus villosissimus is distinguishable from all other species of the genus by its larger size and coloration (except Lasiurus cinereus, but it only occurs in Mexico, Central America, and the Hawaiian Islands). Pelage is dark brownish and grayish mixed with yellow, tinged with white, producing a frosty or hoary appearance which is always evident. It is an insectivorous species that inhabits a great variety of habitats.

Agricultural intensification is one of the major causes for the global loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. As an alternative to conventional farming, organic management is considered a way to mitigate some of the negative impacts on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes; however, their benefits for bats are not very conclusive. We investigated the hypothesis that organic farming benefits bats in vineyards by improving conditions for foraging through increased availability of prey. We also hypothesized that bat activity would vary between edges and the interior of vineyards in response to prey availability that in turn would be influenced by agricultural management. Bat activity was quantified along edge and the interior of each vineyard type by using acoustic surveys. In addition, we sampled nocturnal flying insects at each site using light traps. Species richness and overall bat activity were significantly higher in organic than conventional vineyards, with organic edges concentrating the highest bat activity. Our results suggest negative effects of agricultural intensification on insectivorous bats. The high bat activity along edges compared to the interior of vineyards suggest that these structural features of the landscape are important components for bat populations in vineyards, and therefore should be considered within agricultural management in order to promote bat abundance and their role as pest suppressors.

Bat acoustic libraries are important tools that assemble echolocation calls to allow the comparison and discrimination to confirm species identifications. The Sonozotz project represents the first nation‐wide library of bat echolocation calls for a megadiverse country. It was assembled following a standardized recording protocol that aimed to cover different recording habitats, recording techniques, and call variation inherent to individuals. The Sonozotz project included 69 species of echolocating bats, a high species richness that represents 50% of bat species found in the country. We include recommendations on how the database can be used and how the sampling methods can be potentially replicated in countries with similar environmental and geographic conditions. To our knowledge, this represents the most exhaustive effort to date to document and compile the diversity of bat echolocation calls for a megadiverse country. This database will be useful to address a range of ecological questions including the effects of anthropogenic activities on bat communities through the analysis of bat sound. The Sonozotz project represents the first nation‐wide library of bat echolocation calls for a megadiverse country.

Recent studies predict a future decrease in precipitation across the tropics, particularly the Amazon, likely causing significant droughts that have negative consequences for Amazonian freshwater biomes, especially lakes. Furthermore, immediate consequences of global warming for terrestrial fauna associated with tropical lakes are poorly understood as the vast majority of studies come from temperate regions. Here, we assess the seasonal importance of lakes for the conservation of aerial insectivorous bats in the Central Amazon using passive bat recorders. We compared richness, general bat activity and foraging activity between lakes and adjacent forest. Of a total of 21 species/sonotypes recorded in both habitats, all were detected over lakes, and 18 were significantly more active over lakes than in forest. Only two species had significantly higher activity levels in the forest than at the lakes. Species richness and general bat activity over the lakes were higher in the dry than in the rainy season. Foraging activity was also greater over the lakes than within the forest in both seasons. Moreover, both variables were positively correlated with lake size, although the effect on activity was species‐specific. Climate change‐driven shrinking of lakes may have detrimental consequences for aerial insectivorous bats, especially for the most water‐dependent species. Compared to permanent water bodies of other regions, the value of tropical lakes for functionally important taxa, such as bats, has been understudied. Higher bat activity levels over lakes than in forest in both seasons and comprising the whole ensemble of aerial insectivorous bats of the study region, indicate that lakes embedded in Amazonian terra firme forests deserve special attention for future bat conservation. Recent studies predict a future decrease in precipitation across the tropics, particularly the Amazon, likely causing significant droughts with negative consequences for water bodies. We assessed the seasonal importance of lakes for the conservation of aerial insectivorous bats in the Amazon using autonomous recorders. We compared richness, bat activity and foraging activity between lakes and forest. Of 21 species/sonotypes identified, all were detected over lakes, and 18 of them were significantly more active over water bodies than in forest. During the dry season, richness and bat activity over the lakes were higher than in the rainy season. Both variables were positively correlated with lake size, although bat activity influence was species‐specific. Climate change‐driven shrinking of lakes may have detrimental consequences for insectivorous bats, especially the most water‐dependent species. Our results indicate that lakes embedded in Amazonian terra firme forests deserve special attention for bat conservation as their interactions have clearly been understudied.

CONTEXT: Disentangling the relative effects of forest loss versus fragmentation on species distribution and abundance is crucial for adopting efficient biodiversity conservation actions, which could change with the nature of the landscape matrix. OBJECTIVES: We tested the moderating effect of landscape matrix on insectivorous bats response to forest loss and fragmentation. METHODS: We conducted acoustic surveys at forest patches surrounded by either an agricultural-dominated matrix or a pine-dominated matrix. We related bat activity to forest amount and the number of forest patches at multiple spatial scales, and compared their effects between landscape matrices. RESULTS: Bat activity was associated with both predictors, however their effects varied with the matrix type. In agricultural landscapes, as the amount of forest increased, the activity of Histiotus montanus, Lasiurus cinereus and Tadarida brasiliensis increased, while activity of Myotis chiloensis decreased. Similarly, as fragmentation increased, the activity of Lasiurus varius and M. chiloensis increased, while activity of H. montanus decreased. In production-forest landscapes, only H. montanus decreased its activity with increasing forest amount. In contrast, activity of L. cinereus, M. chiloensis and T. brasiliensis increased with increasing fragmentation. Forest amount was a stronger predictor for agricultural landscapes than for production-forest landscapes, suggesting that low contrast matrices can mitigate the effects of forest loss. CONCLUSIONS: Fragmented landscapes with native forest patches surrounded by a low contrast matrix may support a higher activity of insectivorous bats. Management efforts in fragmented landscapes should aim to decrease the patch-matrix contrast, which will mitigate the effects of forest loss on bats.

Pteronotus gymnonotus (Wagner, 1843) has its northernmost distribution records in southeastern Mexico, where it is classified as an endangered species. In this report we communicate two northernmost extralimital acoustic records of the species in the state of Veracruz, obtained in 2018 and 2022. The average constant frequency of echolocation calls of P. gymnonotus was 56.5 kHz in Boca Andrea and 53.88 kHz in Buena Vista. Acoustic detection surveys of the conspicuous echolocation calls of the species would help much in the detection of the species in roosts and foraging habitats.