Publication Date
8-2024
Advisor(s) - Committee Chair
Carl Dick, Danny Haelewaters, Scott Grubbs
Degree Program
Department of Biology
Degree Type
Master of Science
Abstract
Bats (Chiroptera) are host to diverse lineages of ectoparasitic arthropods including ticks, mites, fleas, bat bugs, and bat flies (Arthropoda). Streblidae and Nycteribiidae are families in the dipteran superfamily Hippoboscoidea, and these hematophagous ectoparasites and their host associations are relatively well studied in the American tropics but not as well in east Africa. One of the main properties of host-parasite systems is host specificity, with some Eastern Hemisphere species (Nycteribiidae) appearing to display a lower level. The morphology of bat flies may drive (or be the result of) niche partitioning on the landscape of the host. Streblid bat flies in the American tropics niche partition by ecomorphotype (fur-runners, fur-crawlers, wingcrawlers) but nycteribiids in the eastern hemisphere species appear to be niche partitioning by size (small medium and large). Bat flies rely on the host for their entire life cycle, with one exception: females leave their host to deposit the third instar larva inside the roost. However, their mating patterns are less documented. Bat flies are also susceptible to parasitism themselves by hyperparasitic microfungi of the order Laboulbeniales, which is comprised of obligate ectoparasites. The proposed dispersal method of these hyperparasites is a transfer of ascospores released during direct contact, for example during fly mating behavior. These microfungi also appear to display high host specificity as well as sex and position specificity. Much of the information regarding Laboulbeniales is based on tropical American species, so I aim to answer similar and new questions about this tritrophic system regarding Eastern Hemisphere species of bats, bat flies, and Laboulbeniales, specifically in Kenya.
Disciplines
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Entomology | Life Sciences
Recommended Citation
Willis, Ally, "Analysis and Tritrophic Associations of Bats, Bat Flies, and Laboulbeniales Microfungi in Kenya" (2024). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 3762.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/3762