Whole Genome Sequencing and Phylogenetic Analysis of Rabies Viruses from Bats in Connecticut, USA, 2018–2019

We performed whole genome sequencing and genetic characterization of rabies viruses (RABV) detected in bats submitted to the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (CVMDL) during 2018-2019. Among 88 bats submitted to CVMDL, six brain samples (6.8%, 95% confidence interval: 1.6% to 12.1%) tested positive by direct fluorescent antibody test. RABVs were detected in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus, n = 4), a hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus, n = 1), and an unidentified bat species (n = 1). Complete coding sequences of four out of six detected RABVs were obtained. In phylogenetic analysis, the RABVs (18-62, 18-4347, and 19-2274) from big brown bats belong to the bats EF-E1 clade, clustering with RABVs detected from the same bat species in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The bat RABV (19-2898) detected from the migratory hoary bat belongs to the bats LC clade, clustering with the eleven viruses detected from the same species in Arizona, Washington, Idaho, and Tennessee. The approach used in this study generated novel data regarding genetic relationships of RABV variants, including their reservoirs, and their spatial origin and it would be useful as reference data for future investigations on RABV in North America. Continued surveillance and genome sequencing of bat RABV would be needed to monitor virus evolution and transmission, and to assess the emergence of genetic mutations that may be relevant for public health.

Patagonian bats: new size limits, southernmost localities and updated distribution for Lasiurus villosissimus and Myotis dinellii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

Vespertilionid species are widely distributed in South America. They are highly diverse, with physiological and behavioral adaptations which allow them to extend their distributions into temperate areas. In Patagonia, this family is represented by seven species in three genera (Histiotus, Lasiurus and Myotis). In this study, we analyzed the distribution of two vespertilionid species, Lasiurus villosissimus and Myotis dinellii, including new southernmost records, and their relationship with environmental variables. Two different spatial scales were analyzed: a continental approach for species distribution analyses (South America), and local trapping of bats in northwestern Chubut province, Argentina. We present new southern limits for L. villosissimus and M. dinellii, and included new records for Patagonian bats. The big hoary bat L. villosissimus was recorded as the largest bat inhabiting Patagonia, relating it as a bat mainly inhabiting low, humid and temperate/warm areas. The little yellow bat M. dinellii, instead, is the smallest mammal and the smallest bat recorded in Patagonia to date, related mainly with dry, mid-altitude and temperate/warm areas.

Summer movements of a radio-tagged Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus) captured in southwestern Ontario

Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus) is a migratory species known to travel long distances during migration. Little is known about its movement patterns during other periods. An adult male Hoary Bat that we radio-tagged in southwestern Ontario in summer was tracked using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. It travelled a minimum of 827 km in a circular route over a 2-week period and was last recorded 46 km from the original capture site. Hoary Bat is highly vulnerable to being killed at wind turbines and its propensity to travel great distances during summer and migration may exacerbate the impacts of wind farms.

The luxury effect beyond cities: bats respond to socioeconomic variation across landscapes

Background The luxury effect describes the positive relationship between affluence and organism diversity or activity in urban ecosystems. Driven by human activities, the luxury effect can potentially be found at a broader scale across different landscapes. Previously, the luxury effect relationship has been established within a city for two bat species, the red bat (Lasiurus borealis) and the evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis). We examined landscape-scale patterns of bat activity distribution—using empirical data for seven bat species for the luxury effect. We also identified bat-land cover associations for each species. Across North Carolina, USA, we used the mobile transect survey protocol of the North American Monitoring Program to record bat activity at 43 sites from 2015 to 2018. We collected land cover and income data at our transect locations to construct generalized linear mixed models to identify bat-land cover and bat-income relationships. Results We found that across landscapes, activity of the red bat and the evening bat was positively correlated to income independent of land cover, consistent with previous single-city results. We found a negative relationship between hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) activity and income. All seven species had specific land cover associations. Additionally, we found a positive interaction term between income and evergreen forest for the red bat and a positive interaction term between income and woody wetland for hoary bat. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that the luxury effect is an ecological pattern that can be found at a broad spatial scale across different landscapes. We highlight the need for multi-scale ecology studies to identify the mechanism(s) underlying the luxury effect and that the luxury effect could cause inequity in how people receive the ecosystem services provided by bats.

Increasing evidence that bats actively forage at wind turbines

Although the ultimate causes of high bat fatalities at wind farms are not well understood, several lines of evidence suggest that bats are attracted to wind turbines. One hypothesis is that bats would be attracted to turbines as a foraging resource if the insects that bats prey upon are commonly present on and around the turbine towers. To investigate the role that foraging activity may play in bat fatalities, we conducted a series of surveys at a wind farm in the southern Great Plains of the US from 2011–2016. From acoustic monitoring we recorded foraging activity, including feeding buzzes indicative of prey capture, in the immediate vicinity of turbine towers from all six bat species known to be present at this site. From insect surveys we found Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Orthoptera in consistently high proportions over several years suggesting that food resources for bats were consistently available at wind turbines. We used DNA barcoding techniques to assess bat diet composition of (1) stomach contents from 47 eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) and 24 hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) carcasses collected in fatality searches, and (2) fecal pellets from 23 eastern red bats that were found on turbine towers, transformers, and tower doors. We found that the majority of the eastern red bat and hoary bat stomachs, the two bat species most commonly found in fatality searches at this site, were full or partially full, indicating that the bats were likely killed while foraging. Although Lepidoptera and Orthoptera dominated the diets of these two bat species, both consumed a range of prey items with individual bats having from one to six insect species in their stomachs at the time of death. The prey items identified from eastern red bat fecal pellets showed similar results. A comparison of the turbine insect community to the diet analysis results revealed that the most abundant insects at wind turbines, including terrestrial insects such as crickets and several important crop pests, were also commonly eaten by eastern red and hoary bats. Collectively, these findings suggest that bats are actively foraging around wind turbines and that measures to minimize bat fatalities should be broadly implemented at wind facilities.