Lek-associated movement of a putative Ebolavirus reservoir, the hammer-headed fruit bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), in northern Republic of Congo

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Main Authors: Olson, Sarah H., Bounga, Gerard, Ondzie, Alain, Bushmaker, Trent, Seifert, Stephanie N., Kuisma, Eeva, Taylor, Dylan W., Munster, Vincent J., Walzer, Chris
Format: Recurso digital
Published: Zenodo 2019
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author Olson, Sarah H.
Bounga, Gerard
Ondzie, Alain
Bushmaker, Trent
Seifert, Stephanie N.
Kuisma, Eeva
Taylor, Dylan W.
Munster, Vincent J.
Walzer, Chris
author_facet Olson, Sarah H.
Bounga, Gerard
Ondzie, Alain
Bushmaker, Trent
Seifert, Stephanie N.
Kuisma, Eeva
Taylor, Dylan W.
Munster, Vincent J.
Walzer, Chris
contents (Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) The biology and ecology of Africa's largest fruit bat remains largely understudied and enigmatic despite at least two highly unusual attributes. The acoustic lek mating behavior of the hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus) in the Congo basin was first described in the 1970s. More recently molecular testing implicated this species and other African bats as potential reservoir hosts for Ebola virus and it was one of only two fruit bat species epidemiologically linked to the 2008 Luebo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebola outbreak. Here we share findings from the first pilot study of hammer-headed bat movement using GPS tracking and accelerometry units and a small preceding radio-tracking trial at an apparent lekking site. The radio-tracking revealed adult males had high rates of nightly visitation to the site compared to females (only one visit) and that two of six females day-roosted ~100 m west of Libonga, the nearest village that is ~1.6 km southwest. Four months later, in mid-April 2018, five individual bats, comprised of four males and one female, were tracked from two to 306 days, collecting from 67 to 1022 GPS locations. As measured by mean distance to the site and proportion of nightly GPS locations within 1 km of the site (percent visitation), the males were much more closely associated with the site (mean distance 1.4 km; 51% visitation), than the female (mean 5.5 km; 2.2% visitation). Despite the small sample size, our tracking evidence supports our original characterization of the site as a lek, and the lek itself is much more central to male than female movement. Moreover, our pilot demonstrates the technical feasibility of executing future studies on hammer-headed bats that will help fill problematic knowledge gaps about zoonotic spillover risks and the conservation needs of fruit bats across the continent.
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_14818990
institution Zenodo
language
publishDate 2019
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle Lek-associated movement of a putative Ebolavirus reservoir, the hammer-headed fruit bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), in northern Republic of Congo
Olson, Sarah H.
Bounga, Gerard
Ondzie, Alain
Bushmaker, Trent
Seifert, Stephanie N.
Kuisma, Eeva
Taylor, Dylan W.
Munster, Vincent J.
Walzer, Chris
Animal behavior
Bat flight
Ebola virus
Fruit bats
Mating behavior
Medical risk factors
Pilot studies
Species delimitation
Biodiversity
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Chordata
Animalia
bats
bat
(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) The biology and ecology of Africa's largest fruit bat remains largely understudied and enigmatic despite at least two highly unusual attributes. The acoustic lek mating behavior of the hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus) in the Congo basin was first described in the 1970s. More recently molecular testing implicated this species and other African bats as potential reservoir hosts for Ebola virus and it was one of only two fruit bat species epidemiologically linked to the 2008 Luebo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebola outbreak. Here we share findings from the first pilot study of hammer-headed bat movement using GPS tracking and accelerometry units and a small preceding radio-tracking trial at an apparent lekking site. The radio-tracking revealed adult males had high rates of nightly visitation to the site compared to females (only one visit) and that two of six females day-roosted ~100 m west of Libonga, the nearest village that is ~1.6 km southwest. Four months later, in mid-April 2018, five individual bats, comprised of four males and one female, were tracked from two to 306 days, collecting from 67 to 1022 GPS locations. As measured by mean distance to the site and proportion of nightly GPS locations within 1 km of the site (percent visitation), the males were much more closely associated with the site (mean distance 1.4 km; 51% visitation), than the female (mean 5.5 km; 2.2% visitation). Despite the small sample size, our tracking evidence supports our original characterization of the site as a lek, and the lek itself is much more central to male than female movement. Moreover, our pilot demonstrates the technical feasibility of executing future studies on hammer-headed bats that will help fill problematic knowledge gaps about zoonotic spillover risks and the conservation needs of fruit bats across the continent.
title Lek-associated movement of a putative Ebolavirus reservoir, the hammer-headed fruit bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), in northern Republic of Congo
topic Animal behavior
Bat flight
Ebola virus
Fruit bats
Mating behavior
Medical risk factors
Pilot studies
Species delimitation
Biodiversity
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Chordata
Animalia
bats
bat
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14818990