Meeting Abstract

P1-20   -   Vampire bat chronic stress and immune function are resilient to local habitat fragmentation Andrews, BR*; DeAnglis, IK; Fenton, MB; Simmons, NB; Becker, DJ; Downs, CJ; SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Western University; American Museum of Natural History; University of Oklahoma; SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry benjaminandrews07@gmail.com

Anthropogenic habitat degradation, including forest fragmentation, is a leading cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. Before population decline occurs, organisms may experience chronic stress and immunosuppression. This makes monitoring wildlife populations experiencing habitat degradation increasingly important, especially for taxa that are reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens, which can spill over to humans. One such species is the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) a sanguivore that is the primary reservoir for pathogens, like rabies, across Latin America. Based on results from prior studies of other Chiropteran species, we predicted that forest fragmentation will induce a stress response and associated immunosuppression. We compared an indicator of stress, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios (NLR), and estimated total white blood cell counts (TWBC) of vampire bats inhabiting a locally fragmented and nearby continuous forest in the Orange Walk District of Belize (n=18 per site). NLRs (P=0.793, t=0.27) and TWBCs (P=0.221, t=-1.25) did not vary between individuals from each forest type, which can be explained by the ecology of vampire bats. This sanguivorous species feeds primarily on large mammals, like cattle. As newly deforested land is converted to cow pasture, food availability increases for the vampire bats, which could buffer against stressors of habitat fragmentation. We advise caution when interpreting these results, however, as we used only a single measure of stress and immunity. Further studies should include multiple markers, such as glucocorticoid deposits in fur, in tandem with NLR to acquire a more comprehensive understanding of the physiological state of these bats. This work was funded by the NSF (IOS 1656551, DEB 1601052), the ARCS Foundation, and the American Museum of Natural History (Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund, Taxonomic Mammalogy Fund).