| compositional turnover in ecto- and endoparasite assemblages of an african bat, miniopterus natalensis (chiroptera, miniopteridae): effects of hierarchical scale and host sex. | we studied the compositional turnover in infracommunities and component communities of ecto- and endoparasites infesting a bat, miniopterus natalensis (chiroptera, miniopteridae), across seven sampling sites using the zeta diversity metric (measuring similarity between multiple communities) and calculating zeta decline and retention rate (both scales) and zeta decay (component communities). we asked whether the patterns of zeta diversity differ between (a) infracommunities and component communit ... | 2020 | 32867864 |
| faecal analyses and alimentary tracers reveal the foraging ecology of two sympatric bats. | we used three complementary methods to assess the diet of two insectivorous bat species: one an obligate aerial hunter, miniopterus natalensis, and the other myotis tricolor whose morphology and taxonomic affiliation to other trawling bats suggests it may be a trawler (capturing insects from the water surface with its feet and tail). we used visual inspection, stable isotope values and fatty acid profiles of insect fragments in bat faeces sampled across five sites to determine the contribution o ... | 2020 | 31945139 |
| 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 |
| the third dimension of bat migration: evidence for elevational movements of miniopterus natalensis along the slopes of mount kilimanjaro. | bats are important ecosystem service providers, and therefore most relevant for both lowland and highland habitats, particularly in the tropics. yet, it is poorly understood to what extent they perform large-scale movements, especially movements along mountain slopes. here, we studied the movement ecology of the potentially migratory species miniopterus natalensis at mount kilimanjaro in tanzania. we analysed stable isotope ratios of c (δ(13)c), n (δ(15)n) and h (δ(2)h) in keratin of sedentary f ... | 2014 | 24213722 |
| retinoic acid-independent expression of meis2 during autopod patterning in the developing bat and mouse limb. | the bat has strikingly divergent forelimbs (long digits supporting wing membranes) and hindlimbs (short, typically free digits) due to the distinct requirements of both aerial and terrestrial locomotion. during embryonic development, the morphology of the bat forelimb deviates dramatically from the mouse and chick, offering an alternative paradigm for identifying genes that play an important role in limb patterning. | 2015 | 25861444 |
| echolocation in the bat, rhinolophus capensis: the influence of clutter, conspecifics and prey on call design and intensity. | echolocating bats are exposed not only to the echoes of their own calls, but often the signals of conspecifics and other bats. for species emitting short, frequency modulated signals e.g. vespertilionoids, adjustments in both the frequency and time domain have been observed in such situations. however, bats using long duration, constant frequency calls may confront special challenges, since these bats should be less able to avoid temporal and frequency overlap. here we investigated echolocation ... | 2015 | 25987587 |
| bat accelerated regions identify a bat forelimb specific enhancer in the hoxd locus. | the molecular events leading to the development of the bat wing remain largely unknown, and are thought to be caused, in part, by changes in gene expression during limb development. these expression changes could be instigated by variations in gene regulatory enhancers. here, we used a comparative genomics approach to identify regions that evolved rapidly in the bat ancestor, but are highly conserved in other vertebrates. we discovered 166 bat accelerated regions (bars) that overlap h3k27ac and ... | 2016 | 27019019 |
| transcriptomic and epigenomic characterization of the developing bat wing. | bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight, but little is known about the genetic determinants that shape their wings. here we generated a genome for miniopterus natalensis and performed rna-seq and chip-seq (h3k27ac and h3k27me3) analyses on its developing forelimb and hindlimb autopods at sequential embryonic stages to decipher the molecular events that underlie bat wing development. over 7,000 genes and several long noncoding rnas, including tbx5-as1 and hottip, were differentially e ... | 2016 | 27019111 |
| pinpointing the vesper bat transposon revolution using the miniopterus natalensis genome. | around 40 million years ago dna transposons began accumulating in an ancestor of bats in the family vespertilionidae. since that time, class ii transposons have been continuously reinvading and accumulating in vespertilionid genomes at a rate that is unprecedented in mammals. miniopterus (miniopteridae), a genus of long-fingered bats that was recently elevated from vespertilionidae, is the sister taxon to the vespertilionids and is often used as an outgroup when studying transposable elements in ... | 2016 | 27489570 |
| the role of early development in mammalian limb diversification: a descriptive comparison of early limb development between the natal long-fingered bat (miniopterus natalensis) and the mouse (mus musculus). | comparative embryology expands our understanding of unique limb structures, such as that found in bats. bat forelimb digits 2 to 5 are differentially elongated and joined by webbing, while the hindlimb digits are of similar length in many species. we compare limb development between the mouse and the natal long-fingered bat, miniopterus natalensis, to pinpoint the stage at which their limbs begin to differ. the bat forelimb differs from the mouse at carollia stage (cs) 14 with the appearance of ... | 2009 | 19253395 |
| helminth parasites of natal long-fingered bats, miniopterus natalensis (chiroptera: miniopteridae), south africa. | the helminth community infecting miniopterus natalensis was studied at two localities, the de hoop nature reserve (dhnr) (n = 57), western cape province and pretoria (n = 12), gauteng province, south africa. hosts from the dhnr had formed part of an earlier, unrelated study and were all pregnant females. a single hymenolepidid cestode species, the nematodes molinostrongylus ornatus and litomosa chiropterorum together with nematodes of the subfamily capillariinae were present at both study sites, ... | 2008 | 19040141 |
| histological study of implantation in the natal clinging bat (miniopterus schreibersii natalensis). | in the natal clinging bat, miniopterus schreibersii natalensis, implantation is centric and superficial in the right uterine horn. the blastocyst implants during the bilaminar stage with the inner cell mass orientated antimesometrially. during the preimplantation period the blastocyst becomes completely enclosed by uterine mucosae with the trophoblast in close contact with the surrounding uterine epithelium. just before implantation the trophoblast becomes bilaminar over the greater part of the ... | 1982 | 7097640 |
| plasma progesterone concentrations in the female natal clinging bat (miniopterus schreibersii natalensis). | plasma progesterone concentrations measured by radioimmunoassay in the natal clinging bat remained below 2.01 ng/ml during lactational anoestrus but increased significantly during the period of delayed implantation. values peaked at implantation but were followed by a significant decrease thereafter. concentrations remained low (less than 6.0 ng/ml) during the initial period of fetal development (153-180 days post coitum) and attained peak values (85.6-181.3 ng/ml) 216-222 days after fertilizati ... | 1989 | 2600916 |