Publications

permeability of hair to cadmium, copper and lead in five species of terrestrial mammals and implications in biomonitoring.	the capacity of mammal hair to absorb toxic metals and its utility in biomonitoring has been broadly studied. though these metal-binding properties has generally been attributed to the sulphur contained in cysteine, an amino acid that forms part of keratin, there are not many experimental studies that analyze the role of sulphur in the external deposition of potentially toxic metallic elements in order to better understand the potential of hair in biomonitoring and generate better tools for diff ...	2017	29151127
the energetic cost of mounting an immune response for pallas's long-tongued bat (glossophaga soricina).	the acute phase response (apr) is the first line of defense of the vertebrate immune system against pathogens. mounting an immune response is believed to be energetically costly but direct measures of metabolic rate during immune challenges contradict this assumption. the energetic cost of apr for birds is higher than for rodents, suggesting that this response is less expensive for mammals. however, the particularly large increase in metabolic rate after apr activation for a piscivorous bat (myo ...	2018	29888121
low energy reserves are associated with fasting susceptibility in neotropical nectar bats glossophaga soricina.	neotropical nectar-feeding bats consume large amounts of sugar and use most of their energy-rich diet directly from the bloodstream, suggesting an adaptation towards lower body energy reserves. here we tested the hypothesis that bats glossophaga soricina spare the energy costs of storing energy reserves, even if this would represent a risky susceptibility during fasting. blood glucose concentrations in 18 h fasted bats showed a 40% decrease. breast muscle and adipose tissue lipids, as well as ca ...	2019	30133553
the dynamics of hovering flight in hummingbirds, insects and bats with implications for aerial robotics.	we analyze the effects of morphology and wing kinematics on the performance of hovering flight. we present a simplified dynamical model with body translational and rotational degrees of freedom that incorporates the flapping, long-axis wing rotation and folding of the wing. to validate our simulation, we compare our results with direct measurements from hovering insects, hummingbirds and bats. results show that long-axis wing rotation angle (a proxy for pronation) has a significant effect on ene ...	2018	30411710
maternal mouth-to-mouth feeding behaviour in flower-visiting bats, but no experimental evidence for transmitted dietary preferences.	in addition to breast milk, several mammals feed their offspring with primary food items. this provisioning can offer both energetic and informational benefits: young might use parentally provided food as a source of nutrients, but also as a valuable option to socially learn about adults' food. for bats, there are only very few and partially anecdotal reports of adults feeding their pups with primary food, and there is also a lack of information about social learning processes during ontogeny. i ...	2019	31170462
bromeliads going batty: pollinator partitioning among sympatric chiropterophilous bromeliaceae.	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. nut ...	2019	31186827
bats are a potential reservoir of pathogenic leptospira species in colombia.	bats have become an epidemiologically significant source of pathogenic microorganisms, such as leptospires, the causative agents of leptospirosis. however, little information exists about bats and their potential role as a reservoir of pathogenic leptospira spp. in colombia. the aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of pathogenic leptospira spp. in the kidneys of bats from the caribbean region of colombia deposited in the collection of mammals of the museo javeriano de historia natural ...	2019	32045371
differential cellular proliferation underlies heterochronic generation of cranial diversity in phyllostomid bats.	skull diversity in the neotropical leaf-nosed bats (phyllostomidae) evolved through a heterochronic process called peramorphosis, with underlying causes varying by subfamily. the nectar-eating (subfamily glossophaginae) and blood-eating (subfamily desmondontinae) groups originate from insect-eating ancestors and generate their uniquely shaped faces and skulls by extending the ancestral ontogenetic program, appending new developmental stages and demonstrating peramorphosis by hypermorphosis. howe ...	2020	32514331