Ectoparasites and bats (Chiroptera) from Acadia National Park, 2016

Lubelczyk, Charles; Henderson, Elizabeth

From the introduction: "Ectoparasite communities of bats, particularly mites, soft bodied ticks (Argasidae), and true bugs (Cimex), have been well documented. Because ectoparasites on bats are not aggressive questers, like mammalian-feeding ticks such as Dermacentor variablilis, they tend to spend the majority of their lives in close association with communal roosts, where the ambient humidity and temperature remain high. Recently, some studies have reported the presence of vector-borne disease agents in temperate bat species. While these studies have reported the genomic trace of agents such as bacteria and rickettsia in bats, the actual reservoir competence of bats for these agents remains unknown. As part of an overall environmental and health assessment of bats on Acadia National Park (Hancock County, Maine), we identified ectoparasites removed from a small community of bats during the summer of 2016. Following species identification, we examined ectoparasites, when available, for the presence of two common tick-borne agents in Maine- Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the agent of granulocytic anaplasmosis."