scholarly journals Evidence for unfamiliar kin recognition in vampire bats

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon P. Ripperger ◽  
Rachel A. Page ◽  
Frieder Mayer ◽  
Gerald G. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Kin Discrimination ◽  
Desmodus Rotundus ◽  
Cooperative Relationships ◽  
Kin Competition ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Social Encounters ◽  
Free Ranging

AbstractKin discrimination allows organisms to preferentially cooperate with kin, reduce kin competition, and avoid inbreeding. In vertebrates, kin discrimination often occurs through prior association. There is less evidence for recognition of unfamiliar kin. Here, we present the first evidence of unfamiliar kin recognition in bats. We captured female vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) from a single roost, allowed them to breed in captivity for 22 months, then released 17 wild-caught females and six captive-born daughters back into the same wild roost. We then used custom-built proximity sensors to track the free-ranging social encounters among the previously captive bats and 27 tagged control bats from the same roost. Using microsatellite-based relatedness estimates, we found that previously captive bats preferentially associated with related control bats, and that captive-born bats preferentially associated with unfamiliar kin among control bats. Closer analyses showed that these unfamiliar-kin-biased associations were not caused by mothers or other familiar close kin, because the kinship bias was evident even when those bats were not nearby. This striking evidence for unfamiliar kin recognition in vampire bats warrants further investigation and provides new hypotheses for how cooperative relationships might be driven synergistically by both social experience and phenotypic similarity.

scholarly journals Social foraging in vampire bats is predicted by long-term cooperative relationships

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon P. Ripperger ◽  
Gerald G. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Food Sharing ◽  
Social Foraging ◽  
Social Grooming ◽  
Cooperative Relationships ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Access To Food

AbstractStable social bonds in group-living animals can provide greater access to food. A striking example is that female vampire bats often regurgitate blood to socially bonded kin and nonkin that failed in their nightly hunt. Food-sharing relationships form via preferred associations and social grooming within roosts. However, it remains unclear whether these cooperative relationships extend beyond the roost. To evaluate if long-term cooperative relationships in vampire bats play a role in foraging, we tested if foraging encounters measured by proximity sensors could be explained by wild roosting proximity, kinship, or rates of co-feeding, social grooming, and food sharing during 22 months in captivity. We assessed evidence for six hypothetical scenarios of social foraging, ranging from individual to collective hunting. We found that female vampire bats departed their roost individually, but often re-united far outside the roost. Nonrandomly repeating foraging encounters were predicted by within-roost association and histories of cooperation in captivity, even when controlling for kinship. Foraging bats demonstrated both affiliative and competitive interactions and a previously undescribed call type. We suggest that social foraging could have implications for social evolution if ‘local’ cooperation within the roost and ‘global’ competition outside the roost enhances fitness interdependence between frequent roostmates.

scholarly journals Presence of same-sex kin promotes explorative behavior in subadult cichlid fish

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 731-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Vitt ◽  
Iris Madge Pimentel ◽  
Timo Thünken
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
West African ◽  
Kin Discrimination ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Kin Competition ◽  
Pelvicachromis Taeniatus ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract While the importance of kin discrimination, that is, kin recognition and subsequent differential treatment of kin and nonkin, is well established for kin-directed cooperation or altruism, the role of kin discrimination in the context of kin competition and kin avoidance is largely unexplored. Theory predicts that individuals avoiding competition with kin should be favored by natural selection due to indirect fitness benefits. Using an experimental approach, we investigated whether the presence of same-sex kin affects avoidance and explorative behavior in subadult Pelvicachromis taeniatus, a West African cichlid fish with strong intrasexual competition in both sexes. Pelvicachromis taeniatus is capable of recognizing kin using phenotype matching and shows kin discrimination in diverse contexts. When exposed to a same-sex conspecific, both males and females tended to interact less with the related opponent. Moreover, individuals explored a novel environment faster after exposure to kin than to nonkin. This effect was more pronounced in females. Individuals avoiding the proximity of same-sex relatives may reduce kin competition over resources such as mating partners or food.

scholarly journals Serological Surveillance of Rabies in Free-Range and Captive Common Vampire Bats Desmodus rotundus

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Megid ◽  
Julio Andre Benavides Tala ◽  
Laís Dário Belaz Silva ◽  
Fernando Favian Castro Castro ◽  
Bruna Letícia Devidé Ribeiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Populations ◽  
Desmodus Rotundus ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Antibody Titers ◽  
Serological Surveillance ◽  
At Risk Populations ◽  
Bat Rabies ◽  
Fluorescent Focus ◽  
Vampire Bat

The control of vampire bat rabies (VBR) in Brazil is based on the culling of Desmodus rotundus and the surveillance of outbreaks caused by D. rotundus in cattle and humans in addition to vaccination of susceptible livestock. The detection of anti-rabies antibodies in vampire bats indicates exposure to the rabies virus, and several studies have reported an increase of these antibodies following experimental infection. However, the dynamics of anti-rabies antibodies in natural populations of D. rotundus remains poorly understood. In this study, we took advantage of recent outbreaks of VBR among livestock in the Sao Paulo region of Brazil to test whether seroprevalence in D. rotundus reflects the incidence of rabies in nearby livestock populations. Sixty-four D. rotundus were captured during and after outbreaks from roost located in municipalities belonging to three regions with different incidences of rabies in herbivores. Sixteen seropositive bats were then kept in captivity for up to 120 days, and their antibodies and virus levels were quantified at different time points using the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT). Antibody titers were associated with the occurrence of ongoing outbreak, with a higher proportion of bats showing titer >0.5 IU/ml in the region with a recent outbreak. However, low titers were still detected in bats from regions reporting the last outbreak of rabies at least 3 years prior to sampling. This study suggests that serological surveillance of rabies in vampire bats can be used as a tool to evaluate risk of outbreaks in at risk populations of cattle and human.

scholarly journals Odour-based kin discrimination in the cooperatively breeding meerkat

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 20121054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Leclaire ◽  
Johanna F. Nielsen ◽  
Nathan K. Thavarajah ◽  
Marta Manser ◽  
Tim H. Clutton-Brock
Keyword(s):  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Kin Discrimination ◽  
Anal Gland Secretion ◽  
Phenotype Matching ◽  
Kin Competition ◽  
Suricata Suricatta ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Matching Mechanism ◽  
Close Relatives

Kin recognition is a useful ability for animals, facilitating cooperation among relatives and avoidance of excessive kin competition or inbreeding. In meerkats, Suricata suricatta, encounters between unfamiliar kin are relatively frequent, and kin recognition by phenotype matching is expected to avoid inbreeding with close relatives. Here, we investigate whether female meerkats are able to discriminate the scent of unfamiliar kin from unfamiliar non-kin. Dominant females were presented with anal gland secretion from unfamiliar individuals that varied in their relatedness. Our result indicates that females spent more time investigating the scent of related than unrelated unfamiliar individuals, suggesting that females may use a phenotype matching mechanism (or recognition alleles) to discriminate the odour of their kin from the odour of their non-kin. Our study provides a key starting point for further investigations into the use of kin recognition for inbreeding avoidance in the widely studied meerkat.

scholarly journals Social foraging in vampire bats is predicted by long-term cooperative relationships

PLoS Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. e3001366
Author(s):  
Simon P. Ripperger ◽  
Gerald G. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Food Sharing ◽  
Social Foraging ◽  
Social Grooming ◽  
Cooperative Relationships ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Access To Food

Stable social bonds in group-living animals can provide greater access to food. A striking example is that female vampire bats often regurgitate blood to socially bonded kin and nonkin that failed in their nightly hunt. Food-sharing relationships form via preferred associations and social grooming within roosts. However, it remains unclear whether these cooperative relationships extend beyond the roost. To evaluate if long-term cooperative relationships in vampire bats play a role in foraging, we tested if foraging encounters measured by proximity sensors could be explained by wild roosting proximity, kinship, or rates of co-feeding, social grooming, and food sharing during 21 months in captivity. We assessed evidence for 6 hypothetical scenarios of social foraging, ranging from individual to collective hunting. We found that closely bonded female vampire bats departed their roost separately, but often reunited far outside the roost. Repeating foraging encounters were predicted by within-roost association and histories of cooperation in captivity, even when accounting for kinship. Foraging bats demonstrated both affiliative and competitive interactions with different social calls linked to each interaction type. We suggest that social foraging could have implications for social evolution if “local” within-roost cooperation and “global” outside-roost competition enhances fitness interdependence between frequent roostmates.

scholarly journals Canine distemper virus infection in a lesser grison (Galictis cuja): first report and virus phylogeny

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Megid ◽  
Carlos R. Teixeira ◽  
Adriana Cortez ◽  
Marcos B. Heinemann ◽  
João M.A.P. Antunes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virus Infection ◽  
Canine Distemper Virus ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Canine Distemper ◽  
Habitat Alterations ◽  
Source Of Infection ◽  
First Case ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Free Ranging

Infectious diseases in wild animals have been increasing as a result of their habitat alterations and closer contact with domestic animals. Canine distemper virus (CDV) has been reported in several species of wild carnivores, presenting a threat to wildlife conservation. We described the first case of canine distemper virus infection in lesser grison (Galictis cuja). A free-ranging individual, with no visible clinical sigs, presented sudden death after one day in captivity. Molecular diagnosis for CDV infection was performed using whole blood collected by postmortem intracardiac puncture, which resulted positive. The virus phylogeny indicated that domestic dogs were the probable source of infection.

The effects of environmental and visitor variables on the behavior of free-ranging ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in captivity

Zoo Biology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Collins ◽  
Ilse Corkery ◽  
Amy Haigh ◽  
Sean McKeown ◽  
Thomas Quirke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lemur Catta ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Habituation of common vampire bats to biologgers

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Kline ◽  
Simon P. Ripperger ◽  
Gerald G. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Animal Behaviour ◽  
Desmodus Rotundus ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
The Mean

Rapid advancements in biologging technology have led to unprecedented insights into animal behaviour, but testing the effects of biologgers on tagged animals is necessary for both scientific and ethical reasons. Here, we measured how quickly 13 wild-caught and captively isolated common vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus ) habituated to mock proximity sensors glued to their dorsal fur. To assess habituation, we scored video-recorded behaviours every minute from 18.00 to 06.00 for 3 days, then compared the rates of grooming directed to the sensor tag versus to their own body. During the first hour, the mean tag-grooming rate declined dramatically from 53% of sampled time (95% CI = 36–65%, n = 6) to 16% (8–24%, n = 9), and down to 4% by hour 5 (1–6%, n = 13), while grooming of the bat's own body did not decline. When tags are firmly attached, isolated individual vampire bats mostly habituate within an hour of tag attachment. In two cases, however, tags became loose before falling off causing the bats to dishabituate. For tags glued to fur, behavioural data are likely to be impacted immediately after the tag is attached and when it is loose before it falls off.

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