Methods and analysis of bat guano cores from caves for paleoecology

Whereas bat guano is gaining viability in accurately reconstructing local paleoenvironmental and climatic conditions, overall reviews of methods for analyzing and collecting bat guano cores have received less attention. Guano cores have been collected from several locations (e.g., United States, Romania, Philippines, and southeast Asia), and the processing and collection methods are quite similar despite a lack of standardized techniques. Physical, chemical, and elemental analyses on guano samples have focused on the interpretation of precipitation changes over time, with additional applications from stable isotope analysis being used for other paleoenvironmental conditions. We obtained three bat guano cores from Alabama and Tennessee to evaluate the collecting and processing techniques of guano. Climatic temperature changes were not analyzed in this study. The purpose of this investigation was to summarize multiple techniques and approaches used to process and analyze bat guano cores with a focus on reconstructing paleoclimate in cave environments throughout the globe. From these three cores, we describe challenges and make recommendations for improving guano analysis.

Tanzanian Bat Guano as an Alternative Source of Phosphorus for Organic Rice Production

Many tropical and subtropical soils are low in phosphorus. This is partly because of excessive weathering, high phosphorous (P) fixation rates, and low P levels in soil parent materials. Continuous removal of P from soils by crops, coupled with limited application of P fertilizers, is also among the contributing factors for low P in soils. Phosphorus is among the most limiting macronutrient in rice (Oryza sativa L.) production. This study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of bat guano collected from Kisarawe (BGK-A and BGK-B) and Sukumawera caves (BGS) in Tanzania. The screen-house experiment at the Sokoine University of Agriculture was designed as a 4 × 6 factorial experiment conducted as a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Guano and triple superphosphate (TSP) were used as standard fertilizer at six P application rates. The yield of rice in response to applied TSP was comparable to applied guano but in the order TSP > BGK-A > BGS > BGK-B. All parameters increased with an increase in applied amounts of P from guano and TSP. Besides this study revealed the significant (P = .05) interaction between P sources and P rates on plant height (PH), micronutrient concentration and dry matter (DM). The study showed the correlation between grain yield (GY) and other crop components of dry matter (DM), the number of panicles (NP), Panicle height (PAH), plant height (PH) and number of tillers (NT). A significant and positive correlation was found for the GY-DM (r = 0.58, P = .05), GY-PAH (r = 0.65, P < .001), and GY-NT (r = 0.420, P = 0.1). But strong positive correlation was found between GY-PH (r = 0.76, P < .001) and GY-NP (r = 0.84, P < .001). It was concluded that studied guanos can be used as an alternative source of P, especially for smallholder farmers.

First Report of CC5-MRSA-IV-SCCfus “Maltese Clone” in Bat Guano

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a widespread pathogen that could cause different illnesses in both human and animals. Presence of MRSA in animals raises concerns of their capacity to act as reservoirs, particularly in wild animals. This study aimed to characterize the resistance and virulence patterns of S. aureus strains isolated from bat guano in Algeria. From March to May 2016, 98 bat guano samples from Aokas’s cave (Bejaia, Algeria) were collected. Swabs were taken for microbiological studies. Isolates were identified by Vitek® MS system, and antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion method. The clonal origin, virulence and antibiotic resistance profiles of S. aureus isolates were characterized by whole genome sequencing. Eleven S. aureus strains were obtained from the 98 guano samples. Seven isolates were sensitive to all antibiotics tested and four (36.3%) were resistant to penicillin G, cefoxitin and fusidic acid. The four MRSA isolates were assigned to the sequence type ST149 and related to spa type t010. These isolates harbored a SCCmecIV element and the fusidic acid resistance element Q6GD50 (fusC). They carried different virulence genes including several enterotoxins (sea, egc enterotoxin locus, sec, sel), and the toxic shock syndrome toxin (tst). Our results highlight that bat guano may constitute an important reservoir of MRSA strains.

​Influence of Formulated Palm Mill Effluent and Bat Guano Mixture on Maize Performance and Soil Chemical Properties in Delta State, Nigeria

Background: Utilization of palm mill liquid effluent and bat guano as organic fertilizer was initiated in year 2019 and 2020. The palm oil mill effluent and bat guano were used to produce compost and was tested on maize and soil properties in Asaba, Delta State. Methods: The compost was applied at 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 ton/ha and replicated four times in randomized complete block design for two years. Plant height, leaf area, stem girth were assessed at maturity whereas yield parameters and soil chemical properties measured at harvest. Data collected were analysed with analysis of variance and means separated with Duncan’s multiple range test at 5% level of probability. Result: Compost significantly increased maize yields and soil properties. The 10 t/ha gave the highest dry matter yield (22.1±2.71 and 36.2±7.47 t/ha), weight of 1000 grains (324±41.0 and 364±63.3) and grain yield (5.2±1.04 and 6.4±1.61 t/ha) in both years, respectively. It also, had the highest soil pH value, organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus. The palm mill liquid effluent and bat guano mixtures have the potentials to be used as organic fertilizer for maize production.

Allantoin and Natrosulfatourea, Two New Bat-Guano Minerals from the Rowley Mine, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA

ABSTRACT The new minerals allantoin (IMA2020–004a), C4H6N4O3, and natrosulfatourea (IMA2019–134), Na2(SO4)[CO(NH2)2], were found in the Rowley mine, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, where they occur together in bat guano in association with aphthitalite and urea. Allantoin properties: colorless, transparent, untwinned blades to 0.3 mm; white streak; vitreous luster; brittle; Mohs hardness 1½; conchoidal fracture; good {100} cleavage; 1.72(2) g/cm3 density; biaxial (+) with α = 1.558(2), β = 1.593(2), γ = 1.715(3); 2V = 60(1)°; slight r &gt; v dispersion; optical orientation: Y = b, Z ^ a = 30° in obtuse β. Natrosulfatourea properties: colorless, transparent, untwinned prisms to 0.3 mm; white streak; vitreous luster; brittle; Mohs hardness 1½; irregular fracture; perfect {100} cleavage; 1.97(2) g/cm3 density; biaxial (+) with α = 1.456(2), β = 1.464(5), γ = 1.524(2); 2V = 42(1)°; no dispersion; optical orientation: X = a, Y = c, Z = b. Quantitative chemical analyses could not be obtained for allantoin. Electron microprobe analyses provided the empirical formula Na2.02(S0.98O4)[CO(NH2)2] for natrosulfatourea. Allantoin is monoclinic, P21/c, a = 8.0304(9), b = 5.1596(5), c = 14.8011(18) Å, β = 93.017(7)°, V = 612.41(11) Å3, and Z = 4. Natrosufatourea is orthorhombic, Pbcn, a = 5.5918(4), b = 18.1814(14), c = 6.7179(5) Å, V = 682.98(9) Å3, and Z = 4. The crystal structure of allantoin (R1 = 0.0432 for 1073 I &gt; 2σI) is the same as that reported for the equivalent organic compound. In the structure of natrosulfatourea (R1 = 0.0413 for 785 I &gt; 2σI) NaO6 polyhedra and SO4 tetrahedra form polyhedral layers. The O atom of the CO(NH2)2 (urea) group ligates to two Na atoms and projects into the space between polyhedral layers, linking adjacent layers through hydrogen bonds.

Geochronological implications of 210Pb and 137Cs mobility in cave guano deposits

Some recent publications on the paleo- and historical environmental interpretation of bat guano sequences have relied on 210Pb and 137Cs distribution to establish age-depth models, even when these are at odds with radiocarbon models in the lower parts of the sequence. Here, we present both field and laboratory evidence for the unpredictable mobility of lead and cesium in decomposing bat guano deposits. We suggest that 210Pb- and 137Cs-based chronologies of bat guano deposits should only be used when independently supported, for example, by a robust radiocarbon age-depth model.

A 12,000 Kyr Paleohydroclimate Record in the Southeastern, U.S.A based on Deuterium from Bat Guano

The southeastern United States endures environmental change from human population increase, climate change, and land use alterations creating the need to understand baseline conditions and environmental patterns prior to human impacts. While paleoenvironmental data can be reconstructed from a variety of archives (e.g. lake sediments, tree rings, speleothems), some geographic areas contain fewer of such records. One archive capable of recording moisture regimes and other paleoenvironmental changes over millennia but has received little attention relative to other climate proxies, are bat guano deposits in cave systems. Bat guano deposits are found in many cave environments in the southeastern United States and can be used as an archive of paleoenvironmental data including precipitation, vegetation, and aspects associated with the ecology of bats. Here, we present a 12,000-year record of paleoenvironmental change based on δ2H stable isotopes in a guano core collected from Cave Springs Cave in Alabama, USA. Results suggest distinct shifts in moisture during the lower Holocene/upper Pleistocene (9,551 – 12,131 cal yr BP) (δ2H values -86.82 – -77.70) and during the middle Holocene (3,886 – 9,351 cal yr BP) (δ2H values -125.74 – -80.63), roughly coinciding with the Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO) time interval (5,000 – 9,000 cal yr BP). During the last 4,000 years, conditions in the region shifted once again in the southeastern United States region. Climate inferences based on guano δ2H are consistent with the role of atmospheric moisture on regional vegetation changes suggested by previous pollen records obtained from lake sediment cores. This study suggests bat guano δ2H may be a reliable method to provide a long-term paleoclimate record.

Diplotemnus balcanicus (Redikorzev, 1928) (Pseudoscorpiones, Atemnidae) rediscovered in Slovakia after 65 years

Diplotemnus balcanicus (Redikorzev, 1928) is reported for the second time from Slovakia. The species was first recorded from Slovakia in 1955 when two specimens were found in bat guano on the loft inside a church. After 65 years, one male was discovered inside a private family home 8 km from the 1955 record. The original 1955 material of D. balcanicus, from a private collection, has been revised. Additionally, a short description of the male of D. balcanicus and some identification notes on Eurasian diplotemnids are provided.