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Juárez-Gabriel J, Alegría-Sánchez D, Yáñez-Aguirre D, Grostieta E, Álvarez-Castillo L, Torres-Castro M, Aréchiga-Ceballos N, Moo-Llanes DA, Alves FM, Pérez-Brígido CD, Aguilar-Tipacamú G, López González CA, Becker I, Pech-Canché JM, Colunga-Salas P, Sánchez-Montes S. Unraveling the diversity of Trypanosoma species from Central Mexico: Molecular confirmation on the presence of Trypanosoma dionisii and novel Neobat linages. Acta Trop 2024; 251:107113. [PMID: 38157924 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.107113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 12/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Bats are one of the groups of mammals with the highest number of associated Trypanosoma taxa. There are 50 Trypanosoma species and genotypes infecting more than 75 species of bats across five continents. However, in Mexico, the inventory of species of the genus Trypanosoma associated with bats is limited to only two species (Trypanosoma vespertilionis and Trypanosoma cruzi) even though 140 species of bats inhabit this country. Specifically, 91 bat species have been recorded in the state of Veracruz, but records of trypanosomatids associated with this mammalian group are absent. Due to the complex Trypanosoma-bat relationship, the high diversity of bat species in Veracruz, as well as the lack of records of trypanosomatids associated with bats for this state, the aim of this work was to analyze the diversity of species of the genus Trypanosoma and their presence from a bat community in the central area of the state of Veracruz, Mexico. During the period of January to August 2022 in the Tequecholapa Environmental Management Unit where bats were collected using mist nets and blood samples were obtained from their thumbs. We extracted genetic material and amplified a fragment of 800 bp of the 18S ribosomal gene of the genus Trypanosoma by conventional PCR. The positive amplicons were sequenced, and phylogenetic reconstruction was performed to identify the parasite species. A total of 285 bats (149♀, 136♂) belonging to 13 species from 10 genera and a single family (Phyllostomidae) were collected. Twenty-three specimens from six species tested positive for the presence of Trypanosoma dionisii, Trypanosoma sp. Neobat 4, and a potential novelty species provisionally named as Trypanosoma sp. Neobat 6. The results of the present work increase the number of species of the genus Trypanosoma infecting bats in Mexico and in the Neotropical region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Juárez-Gabriel
- Maestría en Ciencias del Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias región Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan de Rodriguez Cano, Veracruz, México; Centro de Medicina Tropical, División de Investigación, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México
| | - Daniela Alegría-Sánchez
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias región Peñuela, Universidad Veracruzana, Amatlán de los Reyes, Veracruz, México
| | - Damaris Yáñez-Aguirre
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias región Peñuela, Universidad Veracruzana, Amatlán de los Reyes, Veracruz, México
| | - Estefania Grostieta
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, División de Investigación, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México
| | - Lucía Álvarez-Castillo
- Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Ciudad Universitaria 3000, C.P. 04510, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Marco Torres-Castro
- Laboratorio de Zoonosis y Otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales "Dr. Hideyo Noguchi", Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, México
| | - Nidia Aréchiga-Ceballos
- Dirección de Diagnóstico y Referencia, Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez, Mexico City, México
| | - David A Moo-Llanes
- Grupo de Arbovirosis y Zoonosis, Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, México
| | - Fernanda Moreira Alves
- Laboratory of Trypanosomatid Biology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Carlos D Pérez-Brígido
- Hospital Veterinario, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, región Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan de Rodríguez Cano, Veracruz, México
| | - Gabriela Aguilar-Tipacamú
- CA. Ecología y Diversidad Faunística, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
| | - Carlos A López González
- CA. Ecología y Diversidad Faunística, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
| | - Ingeborg Becker
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, División de Investigación, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México
| | - Juan M Pech-Canché
- Laboratorio de Vertebrados Terrestres, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias región Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan de Rodríguez Cano, Veracruz, México.
| | - Pablo Colunga-Salas
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, División de Investigación, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México; Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa de Enríquez, Veracruz, México.
| | - Sokani Sánchez-Montes
- Centro de Medicina Tropical, División de Investigación, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México; Laboratorio de Diagnóstico, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias región Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan de Rodríguez Cano, Veracruz, México.
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Urrea-Galeano LA, Andresen E, Coates R, Mora Ardila F, Díaz Rojas A, Ramos-Fernández G. Horizontal seed dispersal by dung beetles reduced seed and seedling clumping, but did not increase short-term seedling establishment. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0224366. [PMID: 31648268 PMCID: PMC6812793 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Dung beetles are secondary seed dispersers, incidentally moving many of the seeds defecated by mammals vertically (seed burial) and/or horizontally as they process and relocate dung. Although several studies have quantified this ecological function of dung beetles, very few have followed seed fate until seedling establishment, and most of these have focused on the effects of seed burial. We know very little about the effects of horizontal seed movement by dung beetles, though it is generally assumed that it will affect plant recruitment positively through diminishing seed clumping. The objective of our study was to assess the effects of dung beetle activity on the spatial distribution of seeds and seedlings, and on the probability of seedling establishment. In a tropical rainforest in Mexico we carried out two complementary field experiments for each of two tree species (Bursera simaruba and Poulsenia armata), using seeds experimentally imbedded in pig dung and recording their fate and spatial location over time. For both species, dung beetle activity reduced the spatial clumping of seeds and seedlings; however, it did not increase the probability of seedling establishment. We discuss the context- and species-specificity of the combined effects of horizontal and vertical dispersal of seeds by dung beetles, and the need to quantify long-term seedling fates to more accurately determine the effects of seed movement by dung beetles on plant recruitment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Adonay Urrea-Galeano
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
- * E-mail: (EA); (LAUG)
| | - Ellen Andresen
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
- * E-mail: (EA); (LAUG)
| | - Rosamond Coates
- Estación de Biología Tropical Los Tuxtlas, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Francisco Mora Ardila
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
| | | | - Gabriel Ramos-Fernández
- Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
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Aguilar-Rodríguez PA, Tschapka M, García-Franco JG, Krömer T, MacSwiney G MC. Bromeliads going batty: pollinator partitioning among sympatric chiropterophilous Bromeliaceae. AOB PLANTS 2019; 11:plz014. [PMID: 31186827 PMCID: PMC6537948 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plz014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Pollinators can be a limited resource and natural selection should favour differences in phenotypic characteristics to reduce competition among plants. Bats are important pollinators of many Neotropical plants, including the Bromeliaceae; however, the pre-pollination mechanisms for isolation among sympatric bat-pollinated bromeliads are unknown. Here, we studied the mechanisms for reproductive segregation between Pitcairnia recurvata, Pseudalcantarea viridiflora, Werauhia noctiflorens and W. nutans. The study was conducted at Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, in Veracruz, Mexico We carried out ex situ and in situ manual pollination treatments to determine the breeding system by assessing fruiting and seedling success and sampled bat visitors using mist-nets and infrared cameras. We determined the nocturnal nectar production pattern, estimating the energetic content of this reward. All four bromeliads are self-compatible, but only P. recurvata appears to require pollinators, because the physical separation between anthers and stigma prevents self-pollination, it is xenogamous and presents a strictly nocturnal anthesis. The bats Anoura geoffroyi, Glossophaga soricina and Hylonycteris underwoodi are probable pollinators of three of the studied bromeliads. We did not record any animal visiting the fourth species. The flowering season of each species is staggered throughout the year, with minimal overlap, and the floral morphology segregates the locations on the body of the bat where the pollen is deposited. The most abundant nectar per flower is provided by P. viridiflora, but P. recurvata offers the best reward per hectare, considering the density of flowering plants. Staggered flowering, different pollen deposition sites on the body of the pollinator and differences in the reward offered may have evolved to reduce the competitive costs of sharing pollinators while providing a constant supply of food to maintain a stable nectarivorous bat community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Adrián Aguilar-Rodríguez
- Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales, Universidad Veracruzana, José María Morelos, Col. Centro, C.P. Xalapa, Veracruz, México
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Marco Tschapka
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert Einstein Allee 11, D Ulm, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa Ancón, Apartado, Panamá, Republica de Panamáa
| | - José G García-Franco
- Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec No. 351, El Haya, C.P. Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Thorsten Krömer
- Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales, Universidad Veracruzana, José María Morelos, Col. Centro, C.P. Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - M Cristina MacSwiney G
- Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales, Universidad Veracruzana, José María Morelos, Col. Centro, C.P. Xalapa, Veracruz, México
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Guevara L, Sánchez-Cordero V. New records of a critically endangered shrew from Mexican cloud forests (Soricidae, Cryptotis nelsoni) and prospects for future field research. Biodivers Data J 2018:e26667. [PMID: 30271251 PMCID: PMC6160866 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.6.e26667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The Nelson´s small-eared shrew, Cryptotisnelsoni (Merriam, 1895), is a critically endangered species, endemic to cloud forests in Los Tuxtlas, a mountain range along the Gulf of Mexico coast. This species is only known from the type locality and its surroundings. Here we present new records that extend its distribution approximately 7 km southeast of the type locality and report more specimens near to the type locality. We also identified climatically suitable areas for C.nelsoni using ecological niche modelling and investigated the sampling bias to identify poorly sampled areas in Los Tuxtlas. We suggest that the scarcity of records in other areas with suitable climatic conditions throughout Los Tuxtlas is a consequence of incomplete surveys. We strongly highlight the importance of continuing surveying this critically endangered shrew using more efficient sampling techniques to better understand its current distribution and conservation status. Despite all known localities occurring inside Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, deforestation and climate change still pose current and future threats to this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lázaro Guevara
- Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de Mexico Mexico.,Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de Mexico Mexico
| | - Víctor Sánchez-Cordero
- Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de Mexico Mexico
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