Distribution and origin of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-immunoreactive,acetylcholinesterase-positive and adrenergic nerves of the cerebral arteries in the bent-winged bat (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

Summary The overall distribution and origins of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-immunoreactive (IR), acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-positive and adrenergic nerves in the walls of the cerebral arteries were investigated in the bent-winged bat. VIP-IR and AChE-positive nerves innervating the bat cerebral vasculature appear to arise mainly from VIP-IR and AChE-positive cell bodies within microganglia found in the nerve bundle accompanying the sympathetic nerve bundle within the tympanic cavity. These microganglia, as well as the nerve bundle containing them, do not emit catecholamine fluorescence, suggesting that they are of the cranial parasympathetic outflow, probably the facial or glossopharyngeal one. The axons from VIP-IR and AChE-positive microganglia run intermingled with sympathetic adrenergic nerves in the same thick fiber bundles, and reach the cranial cavity through the carotid canal. In addition, some of the VIP-IR fibers innervating the vertebro-basilar system, at least the basilar artery, originate from VIP-IR nerve cells located in the wall of this artery.The supply of VIP-IR fibers to the bat major cerebral arteries is the richest among mammals that have been studied, and differs from other mammals in that it is much greater in the vertebro-basilar system than in the internal carotid system: plexuses of VIP-IR nerves are particularly dense along the walls from the posterior ramus to posterior cerebral and basilar arteries. Small pial and intracerebral arteries of the vertebro-basilar system, especially those of the posterior cerebral artery which supply most parts of the diencephalon and cerebrum, are also richly innervated by peripheral VIP-IR fibers. This pattern corresponds well with the innervation pattern of adrenergic and AChE-positive nerves.     

The status of the corpus luteum during pregnancy in Miniopterus schreibersii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) with emphasis on its role in developmental delay

Summary Developmental delay is correlated with torpor in the temperate zone bent-winged bat, Miniopterus schreibersii (latitude 37° S) as a period of pre-implantation delay (delayed implantation) followed by a short post-implantation delay (delayed development). During this time, the number of steroidogenic organelles in luteal cytoplasm is greatly reduced compared with normal embryogenesis, and granular endoplasmic reticulum is prominent. Nidation, which occurs while the animals are hibernating, is not accompanied by marked changes in luteal ultrastructure, although the number of lipid droplets decreases somewhat. Progesterone rises slightly but not significantly; however, a pre-nidation decrease in high 17-estradiol levels may play a role in implantation. Following implantation, the conceptus remains delayed at the blastocyst stage for several weeks. During this time the bats remain torpid and the only change in luteal cell ultrastructure is an increase in smooth endoplasmic reticulum as differentiation begins toward the trilaminar stage. At the end of developmental delay hypertrophy of the luteal cell begins and mitochondria and lipid droplets increase, markedly. By this time arousal from hibernation has occurred, placentation takes place, and normal development is underway. At placentation, smooth endoplasmic reticulum reaches its maximum in luteal cytoplasm; estrogen and progesterone levels peak about 6 weeks later. For the remaining 2 months of gestation, signs of luteolysis appear. These observations suggest that the corpus luteum of developmental delay, though suboptimally functional, is prolonged in its luteinization by the arrival of winter when the bats enter torpor. The capacity for maximal steroidogenesis is acquired at the end of winter, some weeks after implantation, when arousal occurs and normal development ensues.     

偏离最佳频率的声信号对几内亚长翼蝠下丘神经元的前掩蔽

为探讨偏离神经元最佳频率(best frequency,BF)的声刺激对下丘神经元的前掩蔽效应,实验选用5只听力正常的几内亚长翼蝠(Miniopterus magnater),记录它们的下丘神经元对偏离BF的掩蔽声和探测声(BF)的反应.结果发现,当掩蔽声向高或低频方向偏离神经元的BF时,掩蔽效应逐渐降低.根据计算出的...     

蝙蝠科三种蝙蝠的G-带和C-带

对肺、心等进行组织培养,用空气干燥法制作染色体标本,对贵州3种蝙蝠即中华鼠耳蝠(Myotis chinensis)、西南鼠耳蝠(M.altarium)和亚洲长翼蝠(Miniopterus fuliginosus)进行了G-带、C-带带型分析。结果表明,2种鼠耳蝠的G-带基本相同,亚洲长翼蝠的G-带与两种鼠耳蝠有一定同源性;C-带核型中,中华鼠耳蝠和亚洲长翼蝠只有着丝粒带,而西南鼠耳蝠有的染色体有插入C-带和端位C-带。根据带型异同分析讨论了鼠耳蝠和长翼蝠间的进化关系。     

福建省三明市发现南长翼蝠

2013年7月在福建省三明市尤溪县梅仙镇峰岩村峰岩3号洞(26°15'15″N,118°16'55″E,海拔536 m)用雾网采集到4只蝙蝠(1♀、3♂)。利用数显电子秤和数显游标卡尺测量了外形17项及头骨25项指标,并与文献记载的海南、爪哇岛、斯兰岛标本进行了比对。体型较小,耳短而宽,毛短而密,毛被扩展到鼻子后方,背毛黑褐色,腹毛深棕色,头颈部毛色与腹部毛色较一致;翼膜狭长,第Ⅲ指第二指节的长度约为第一指节的3倍;头骨的吻突低而略宽,脑颅高、大而圆;体重7.1~9.8 g,前臂长41.7~43.7 mm,颅全长13.87~14.17 mm,颅高6.21~6.73 mm。经鉴定为南长翼蝠(Miniopterus pusillus),为福建省翼手类新纪录。标本保存在河南师范大学生命科学学院。     

Can mite parasitism affect the condition of bat hosts? Implications for the social structure of colonial bats

Ectoparasitism may be recognized as one of the main costs of coloniality, but little is known about how it affects the fitness and social structure of bats, the most gregarious of mammals. We studied these issues using the colonial bat Miniopterus schreibersii and its haematophagous parasitic mite Spinturnix psi as a model. Body condition is an important indicator of individual fitness that is potentially affected by ectoparasitism. Thus, we measured host body condition and mite loads in a total of 969 bats throughout the annual cycle. Mites were rare while hosts hibernated, increased in abundance in spring and peaked during nursing season of bats, when they were particularly abundant on lactating females and young bats. This strong seasonal variation in mite loads is related to the reproductive cycle of mites, which in turn appears to be synchronized with the reproductive cycle of their hosts. Mite loads and the condition of bats were negatively correlated, and information available suggests that this may be due to an effect of parasitism, although other possible causes for this trend cannot be excluded. However, a negative correlation was only observed during the bat's nursing season, when mites were most abundant, and heavily parasitized bats lost about 10% of their weight. Mite parasitism did not seem to be a significant disadvantage of coloniality, except in nurseries, where it might impose some costs. However, as females and young usually aggregate in these colonies, we presume that for them such costs are probably offset by advantages of group living. Adult males, however, are usually absent from nurseries, which may be a strategy to minimize mite parasitism. Overall, the results suggest that ectoparasitism may play a role in determining the social structure of M. schreibersii and of many other temperate bats that have similar life cycles and ectoparasitic loads.