Association of bat flies (Diptera: Streblidae) and bats: Richness and host specificity in Western Mexico

As part of a widespread ecological study on the ectoparasites of bats in Western Mexico, we report new information on the specificity, and distribution of bat flies in a geographical transition zone between the neartic and neotropical zones. Fifteen (15) species of bats representing three families (Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, and Vespertilionidae) were collected in 10 locations throughout western Mexico. A total of 276 bat flies, representing 6 genera and 25 species, were identified four species of the bat flies are new records for the region indicating an expansion of the distribution for Trichobius corynorhini (Cockerll, 1910), T. hoffmannae (Guerrero & MoralesMalacara, 1996), T. intermedius (Peterson & Hurka, 1974) and Nycterophilia natali (Wenzel, 1966). These records update the species richness of streblids to 40 species in the state of Jalisco, representing 65.6% of the total number of 61 species of streblids recorded in Mexico. The interaction network showed a high degree of specialization of the bat flies towards their hosts (H2' = 0.92). Similarly, the specificity indices showed that there is a high ecological specificity (SI) with an average of 92%, of all the bat flies was associated with their primary hosts, while the average value of specificity of the phylogenetic trees (STD) of the six streblid species that presented more than one host was 1.7%, indicating a high specificity. The results of this study provide relevant information on bat-parasite associations and highlight the need for further research to obtain information on the geographic distribution of streblids and their hosts.

Automated summary

This study provides new information about the specificity and distribution of bat flies in the transition zone of Western Mexico. The researchers collected 15 bat species from 10 locations and identified 25 species of bat flies, including four new records for the region. The bat flies showed high specialization towards their hosts and a high ecological specificity.