Parasites of Molossus molossus (Chiroptera: Molossidae) captured in an ecotourism area of the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands

• Grant number: 18/04138-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2018
• End date: August 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Estevam Guilherme Lux Hoppe
• Grantee: Giovanna Fernandes Esteves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Bats have an important ecological role in nature, being responsible for the dispersion of fruits and seeds, pollination of flowers and insect predation, among many other functions. Despite its great importance for the environment, there is little knowledge about the parasitic helminthosauna of bats in Brazil. Thus, this work aims to identify known species of parasites of Molossus molossus, a species widely distributed in Brazil, with description of infection indicators and evaluation of aspects of parasite-host relationship. To carry out this study, 20 adult Molossus molossus captured with mist networks at the UFMS Pantanal Study Base, in Passo do Lontra, Corumbá, MS, will be necropsied. After capture, the bats were slaughtered with isoflurane, identified and evaluated biometrically, packed in identified plastic bags and kept frozen at -20oC until processing. After identifying the parasites and determining the infection indicators, the interaction between phenotypic characteristics of the hosts (gender, forearm size, weight) and infection indicators (prevalence, abundance, medium intensity and intensity variation) will be evaluated. This work intends to contribute to the knowledge of the biodiversity of one of the most important Neotropical Biomes.