Immunocytochemical studies on the pituitary pars distalis of the Japanese long-fingered bat,Miniopterus schreibersii fuliginosus

Summary Immunocytochemical studies were performed to describe the characteristics of cell types and their distribution in the pars distalis of Japanese long-fingered bat, Miniopterus schreibersii fuliginosus, collected at various stages of the reproductive cycle. Six distinct cell types have been identified in the pars distalis by the unlabeled immunoperoxidase technique and by the ABC method. Growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) cells were immunostained with antisera against chicken GH and ovine PRL. The GH-immunoreactive cells were round or oval orangeophilic cells distributed throughout the pars distalis with prominent aggregation in the posterolateral region. The PRL cells were pleomorphic carminophilic cells that occurred in small groups within the central and dorsocaudal regions of the pars distalis. They were sparsely distributed in the central region of the pars distalis in the hibernating bats, but increased significantly in the pregnant and lactating bats. The adrenocorticotropic (ACTH) cells were large round or polygonal amphophilic cells in the rostroventral and ventrolateral regions of the pars distalis. The thyrotropic (TSH) cells were small rounded or polygonal and distributed mainly in the ventrolateral region of the pars distalis. Luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) cells were identified immunocytochemically with antisera against the specific beta subunits of ovine LH and rat FSH. There were two populations of LH and FSH cells, one aggregated in the zona tuberalis and the other scattered singly throughout the rest of the pars distalis. The aggregated cells were immunoreactive with both antisera directed to LH and FSH, while scattered cells were reactive solely with antiserum to either LH or FSH and exhibited seasonal variations. In females, the proportional volume of the pars distalis occupied by LH cells was significantly reduced during pregnancy and lactation. No evidence of involution was observed in pars distalis cells except for PRL cells in males or females during hibernation.     

Postnatal growth in the Long-fingered Bat,Miniopterus schreibersii pallidus,in Iran (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae)

This study describes the postnatal development of body mass, forearm length and epiphyseal phalangeal gap in a free ranging population of the Long-fingered Bat, Miniopterus schreibersii pallidus Thomas, 1907, in a maternity roost in the Mahidasht cave in western Iran. The pups at birth had a mean body mass of 3.74?±?0.09 g and forearm length of 24.3?±?0.31mm. The length of forearm and body mass increased linearly during first two weeks, and thereafter maintained an apparent stability. The epiphyseal gap of the fourth metacarpal phalangeal joint increased until the thirteenth day, then decreased linearly until the 70th day and thereafter fused. The rate of body mass gain and forearm growth during the first 13 days was 0.54 g/day and 1.39 mm/day, respectively. Initiation of flight occurred three weeks after birth. A method of estimating age was derived from the values of the forearm length and the total gap of the fourth metacarpal-phalangeal joint during the pre-flight and post-flight periods.     

Development and characterisation of 20 microsatellite loci isolated from the large bent-wing bat, Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae) and their cross-taxa utility in the family Miniopteridae

The large bent-wing bat, Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl 1819), has a long history of taxonomic uncertainty and many populations are known to be in a state of decline. Microsatellite loci were developed for the taxonomic and population genetic assessment of the Australian complex of this species. Of the 33 primer sets designed for this research, seven (21%) were deemed suitably polymorphic for population-level analyses of the Australian taxa, with five (71%) of these loci revealing moderate to high levels of polymorphism (PIC = 0.56 to 0.91). The cross-taxa utility of the M. schreibersii microsatellite markers was assessed in the microbat (Chiroptera) family Miniopteridae. Sub-species and species covering the Miniopteridae's global distribution (with the exception of the Middle East) were selected, numbering 25 taxa in total. Amplification was successful for 26 loci, of which 20 (77%) were polymorphic. High cross-taxa utility of markers was observed with amplification achieved for all taxa for between four (20%) and 20 (100%) loci, and polymorphism was considered moderate to high (PIC = 0.47-0.91) for 12 (60%) of these loci. The high cross-taxa utility of the microsatellites reported herein reveal versatile and cost-effective molecular markers, contributing an important genetic resource for the research and conservation of Miniopteridae species worldwide.     

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the long-fingered bat Miniopterus fuliginosus

We isolated and characterized 10 microsatellite loci in the long-fingered bat Miniopterus fuliginosus. These loci were tested on 48 individuals from Anhui Province of China, and all loci were highly polymorphic. The mean number of observed alleles per locus was 13.6 (range from six to 27). Observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.364 to 0.957, and from 0.676 to 0.951, respectively. After Bonferroni correction, four loci deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. No pairs of loci were in linkage disequilibrium. These polymorphic markers will be used to examine population structure and genetic diversity in this species.     

The biogeography of Miniopterus bats (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae) from the Comoro Archipelago inferred from mitochondrial DNA

The endemic fauna of the Comoro Archipelago is composed of a mixture of taxa originating from Africa and Madagascar. Bats are the only native land dwelling mammals on this archipelago, but the biogeographical origins for the vast majority of species within this group are ambiguous. We report here genetic analyses based on two mitochondrial DNA markers to infer the origin of Comorian bats belonging to a reputed species complex of Miniopterus that is further distributed across Africa and Madagascar. Phylogenetic reconstructions show that east African M. minor are not closely related to the insular Miniopterus of Madagascar and the Comoros (Grande Comore and Anjouan). The latter cluster into two distinct, monophyletic clades (Clade 1 and Clade 2). Representatives of these clades occur sympatrically both on the Comoros and on Madagascar, and are distinguished by a large genetic distance (K2P: 9.9% for cytochrome b). No haplotypes are shared between any islands, suggesting the absence of contemporary gene flow. Populations of the widespread Clade 1 are furthermore characterized by a significant inter‐island structure (Φ_CT = 0.249), and by high haplotype and nucleotide diversities (h = 0.90–0.98, π = 0.04–0.06). Demographic analyses of Clade 1 suggest secondary contact between two distinct phylogroups (Subclade 1 A and 1B) that reached Grande Comore and Anjouan, and a large, stable population with a long evolutionary history on Madagascar. These results and the current distribution of related lineages suggest that the Comoros were colonized independently at least two or three times by ancestors from Madagascar.     

普通长翼蝠食性结构及其回声定位与体型特征

在普通长翼蝠(Miniopterus fuliginosus)的捕食区内用灯诱法和网捕法调查潜在食物(昆虫)种类; 用粪便分析法鉴定普通长翼蝠的食物组成,发现其主要捕食体型较大的鳞翅目和鞘翅目昆虫,体积百分比分别为55%和38%.普通长翼蝠具有相对狭长的翼,翼展比为6.94 ± 0.13;翼载为(9.85 ± 0.83)N/m2,相对较大.飞行状态下普通长翼蝠的回声定位叫声为调频下扫型,声脉冲时程为(1.45 ± 0.06)ms,脉冲间隔为(63.08 ± 21.55)ms,主频较低,为(44.50 ± 2.26)kHz.研究表明,普通长翼蝠的形态特征和回声定位特征与其捕食行为有着密切的联系.     

安徽发现腹侧颈部白化的几内亚长翼蝠

2006年10月24日,在安徽省六安市金寨县响洪甸水库附近的矿洞中捕捉到1只腹侧颈部白化的雌性几内亚长翼蝠(Miniopterus magnater:Chiroptera,Vespertilionidae),该只白化个体的体重、头体长、前臂长、胫骨长、后足长、尾长、耳长和耳宽分别为14.4g、50.1mm、48.2mm、20.7mm、9.3mm、51.2mm、10.7mm和8.8mm,均在正常个体数据范围之内。     

Patterns of morphological and genetic variation in the endemic Malagasy bat Miniopterus gleni (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae), with the description of a new species, M. griffithsi

Over the past decade, major advances have been made concerning the systematics and species diversity of Malagasy bats, largely based on specimens collected during inventories and associated morphological and molecular genetic studies. Herein we describe a new species of endemic bat from southern Madagascar, Miniopterus griffithsi sp. n . , which is the sister taxa to Miniopterus gleni , a taxon described in 1995 (holotype from Sarodrano, just north of the Onilahy River in the southwest). Based on current information, M. griffithsi is found in the sub-arid bioclimatic zone, south of the Onilahy River, and M. gleni occurs in a variety of different bioclimatic zones, north of the Onilahy River to the northern portion of the island and on the near shore island of Ile Sainte Marie. The realization that M. griffithsi was a separate entity was first based on phylogeographic studies of the M. gleni complex. Comparisons using 397 bp of mitochondrial cytochrome b found a divergence of 1.2% within animals occurring across much of Madagascar north of the Onilahy River, 0.07% in those south of the Onilahy River, and 7.4% in populations separated by this river. Subsequently, morphological characters were identified that supported the specific separation of populations occurring south ( M. griffithsi ) and north of the Onilahy River ( M. gleni ), which include tragus shape, pelage coloration, and skull proportions.     

Migratory behaviour of the Schreiber's bat: when, where and why do cave bats migrate in a Mediterranean region?

Regional migrations are important elements of the biology of bats, but remain poorly understood. We obtained a large dataset of recoveries of ringed Miniopterus schreibersii to study the patterns and drivers of migration of a Mediterranean cave-dwelling bat. In spite of the mildness of Mediterranean winters, in average years bats hibernated, and few movements were recorded during this period. After hibernation, females migrated to spring roosts, and again to maternity roosts just before parturition. This late arrival at nurseries could be a strategy to avoid a harmful build-up of parasites. Soon after the juveniles were weaned, the mothers migrated to the roosts where they spent autumn and sometimes also winter. Juveniles remained in the warm nurseries longer, presumably because high roost temperatures speed up growth. The pattern of migration of males was similar to that of females, but they left hibernacula later and remained more mobile during the maternity season. They also arrived at the hibernacula later, possibly because they needed time to build up fat stores after the energetically costly mating season. Maternity colonies spent the yearly cycle in well-defined home ranges (mean=19 030 km²), which overlapped greatly. Bats were furthest from the maternity sites during hibernation, but even then 80% remained within 90 km of them. Each hibernaculum attracted bats from multiple nurseries, from within a mean range of 10 770 km². We tested two potential drivers for migration – temperature in the roosts and at the foraging areas – but our results supported only the first one. Bats migrated to reach the roosts most thermally suited for each phase of their life cycle, indicating that roost temperature and associated metabolic advantages are key drivers for regional migrations of cave-dwelling bats.     

A new species of Miniopterus (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae) from lowland southeastern Madagascar

Based on morphological, mensural and molecular characters, a new species of bat of the genus Miniopterus is described from Madagascar, M. petersoni. While showing some morphological convergence to the recently named M. sororculus, the species described herein possesses a number of external and cranial characters that separates the two. Further, molecular data indicate that these two taxa are not closely related and are from different portions of the Miniopterus clade. Based on current information, M. petersoni appears to have a distribution in the southeastern portion of Madagascar associated with littoral, lowland and transitional humid-dry forest formations. Populations in the far north of its range, at Montagne d’Ambre in the lower end of montane forest and near Maroantsetra in a lowland zone, are tentatively assigned to M. petersoni.