Publication Date

Summer 2021

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Carl Dick (Director), Jarrett Johnson and Keith Philips

Degree Program

Department of Biology

Degree Type

Master of Science

Abstract

Bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae and Streblidae) are hematophagous ectoparasites of bats distributed globally. Members of Nycteribiidae are morphologically constrained relative to streblids, and are united by their lack of wings, dorso-ventrally compressed bodies, and a primary distribution across the Eastern hemisphere. Bats are principal reservoirs of infectious diseases, including viral zoonoses of important consideration to human health, but the overall high host specificity of bat flies has largely been thought to curb their potential as inter-specific vectors of bat-borne pathogens. However, nycteribiid diversity and host associations remain critically understudied in some geographic regions, and rare examples of nycteribiid bat flies demonstrating low host specificity have been documented. In this thesis, two approaches are used to investigate the diversity and ecology of nycteribiid bat flies in Kenya, a country with understudied nycteribiid diversity despite its exceptional richness of bats. The first approach consolidates all historical records of nycteribiid bat flies in Kenya with records from the recent 9-year Bats of Kenya survey to generate a comprehensive species catalog. This catalog describes seven nycteribiid genera and 18 species in total, including 5 species unknown from Kenya prior to the Bats of Kenya survey, in addition to their respective host associations and geographic distributions. The second approach uses molecular techniques to investigate the potential for cryptic diversity in a single Kenyan bat fly species with unusually low host specificity, Penicillidia fulvida. Undetected cryptic diversity can conceal higher host specificity in morphologically conserved parasites, a possible explanation for the existence of anomalous host-generalist bat fly species. However, the use of mitochondrial COI and nuclear 28S did not reveal genetic structure in P. fulvida across 6 bat families, suggesting P. fulvida truly represents a single morphological and genetic species capable of parasitizing phylogenetically distant bats. Overall, this study enhances our understanding of nycteribiid diversity and host associations, and addresses important ecological factors obscuring the potential of this parasite group as vectors of infectious disease.

Disciplines

Evolution | Molecular Genetics | Parasitology

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