Study of the chiropterofauna in urban-rural interfaces: richness, abundance and distribution associated to the risk of pathogen transmission to pet animals and humans

• Grant number: 19/19702-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: June 01, 2020
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Augusto Dias
• Grantee: Ricardo Augusto Dias
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: Marcos Bryan Heinemann ; Paulo Eduardo Brandão

Abstract

From the 180 Brazilian bat species (Order Chiroptera), 46,7% can occur in urban areas, although little is known about the influence of these environments on species' ecology, and there are no published works about urban bat community structure in Brazil to date. The urbanization process, however, may potentially lead to important ecological changes on intra and interspecific pathogenic transmissions dynamics in bat communities. Existing urban chiropterofauna surveys come from secondary data from rabies passive surveillance systems, which has been providing evidences about viral circulation on these populations. However, these data do not allow to acknowledge the ecological and epidemiological roles of urban bats using only secondary data. This knowledge is crucial in a context of harmonious coexistence between humans, bats and domestic animals in areas with different levels of anthropization. Thus, the aims of the present work are to perform a bioacustic monitoring on bat communities to investigate how the landscape components influence aspects such as richness and relative abundance of species and the activity degree of these animals on an urban-rural-natural gradient, and access people's atitudes and perception about their coexistence with bats and the potential disease transmission that can come with it. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ESTEVES, STEPHANIE BERGMANN; GAETA, NATALIA CARRILLO; BATISTA, JULIANA MARIA NUNES; DIAS, RICARDO AUGUSTO; HEINEMANN, MARCOS BRYAN. Leptospira sp. infection in bats: A systematic review and meta-analysis. TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES, v. N/A, p. 18-pg., 2022-05-30. (19/19702-1)

BRITO, JOAO EDUARDO CAVALCANTI; DE MELLO, BEATRIZ GAGETE VERISSIMO; GAETA, NATALIA CARRILLO; BATISTA, JULIANA MARIA NUNES; BRITO, TIAGO ROBERTO; AGOSTINHO, WASHINGTON CARLOS; BRANDAO, PAULO EDUARDO; HEINEMANN, MARCOS BRYAN; DIAS, RICARDO AUGUSTO. Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in urban-rural interfaces: community structure associated with pathogen screening in Sao Paulo-the largest metropolitan region in Brazil. VETERINARY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, v. 47, n. 3, p. 26-pg., 2023-05-08. (20/15008-0, 20/14401-0, 19/19702-1)

GAETA, NATALIA CARRILLO; BRITO, JOAO EDUARDO CAVALCANTE; NUNES BATISTA, JULIANA MARIA; DE MELLO, BEATRIZ GAGETE VERISSIMO; DIAS, RICARDO AUGUSTO; HEINEMANN, MARCOS B.. Bats Are Carriers of Antimicrobial-Resistant Staphylococcaceae in Their Skin. ANTIBIOTICS-BASEL, v. 12, n. 2, p. 14-pg., 2023-02-01. (20/15008-0, 20/14401-0, 19/19702-1)

DE MELLO, BEATRIZ GAGETE VERISSIMO; BRITO, JOAO EDUARDO CAVALCANTI; DIAS, RICARDO AUGUSTO. Stratifying the urban matrix using zoning laws: a protocol for bats and their pathogens. URBAN ECOSYSTEMS, v. N/A, p. 13-pg., 2023-08-15. (19/19702-1)