John O. Whitaker

CHITINASE IN INSECTIVOROUS BATS

Abstract Chitinase was found in the intestines of 9 species of 6 genera of bats of Indiana. Included were the northern myotis, Myotis septentrionalis; the little brown myotis, M. lucifugus; the Indiana myotis, Myotis sodalis, the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, the eastern pipistrelle, Pipistrellus subflavus, the evening bat, Nycticeius humeralis, the red bat, Lasiurus borealis, the hoary bat, L. cinereus, and the silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans. Chitinase was found in summer and in winter, but at significantly lower levels in winter. Chitinase in summer may help to separate parts of insects by breaking down softer connective tissue. In winter, it may break down remnants of chitin left over from summer foraging and could even serve as a supplemental source of energy and nutrients. Chitinase was produced in these bats by 6 previously known species of chitinase-producing bacteria, 2 of Serratia, 3 of Bacillus, and 1 of Enterobacter, and by 4 species previously unknown to produce chitinase, Hafnia alvei, Citrobacter amelonaticus, Enterobacter aerogenes, and E. cloacae.

Population Structure and Dynamics of Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) Hibernating in Buildings in Indiana

Abstract We monitored 63 buildings in Indiana serving as hibernacula for big brown bats for up to six winters. Fidelity of individuals to roosts averaged 21.4% in buildings with maternity colonies and 33.3% in buildings without maternity colonies, although this difference was not significant. There was much turnover, both within and among years, some bats being present one year, absent for a year or two and then returning. The sex ratio of hibernating bats was male biased (65.6% males) in buildings with maternity colonies and female biased in buildings lacking maternity colonies (65.2% female). Most big brown bats in Indiana hibernate in heated buildings rather than in caves or mines.

Models developed from δ13C and δ15N of skin tissue indicate non-specific habitat use by the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Abstract Stable isotopes can be used to evaluate trophic relationships, nutrient state, and temporal and spatial variation in diet, food webs, and behaviour both within and between species. Here we describe the development and application of models to predict habitat use of a common insectivorous bat (Eptesicus fuscus) based upon δ13C and δ15N signatures of skin tissue. We used a 42-specimen sample collected from three well-characterized ecogeographic regions, disparate both in photosynthetic mechanism and fertilizer use, to generate the models. Significant univariate differences between these three sites in terms of δ13C (F2, 39 = 112.92, P < 0.0001) and δ15N (F2, 39 = 97.06, P < 0.0001), and multivariate significance of both variables (Wilks λ = 0.032, F4, 76 = 87.02, P < 0.0001), made it possible to develop three predictive models using Fishers linear discriminant functions: 1) a model predicting if bats forage in C3 or mixed C3/C4 sites, 2) a model predicting if bats forage in agricultural areas, and 3) a combined model using both variables to predict specific habitat use. We present the results of model application to an independent dataset of 329 bats sampled from 10 states that included a broad range of δ13C (−26.53‰ δ13C −17.20‰) and δ15N (6.36‰ δ15N 15.60‰) signatures. We validated the use of skin tissue samples (from wing membranes) in the model by comparing the sites used for model development across five tissue types, selecting skin samples for model development due to consistently low variance within this tissue type. Our results indicate non-specific habitat-use by big brown bats.

Reproductive stage influences roost use by tree roosting female eastern pipistrelles, Pipistrellus subflavus

Abstract: We investigated the effect of reproductive stage (reproductive versus non-reproductive) on summer roost use by adult female eastern pipistrelles. Due to differing selective pressures associated with summer reproductive and non-reproductive stages, we hypothesized that roost tree species and tree characteristics used by adult female eastern pipistrelles would differ depending on the individual’s reproductive stage. Reproductive females preferred roost trees in the genus Quercus, whereas non-reproductive females did not prefer a specific species group. Reproductive females roosted at lower levels in the forest strata, closer to a permanent water source, and farther from the nearest forest/field edge. We stress the importance of recognizing the potential for changes in habitat use by adult female bats during summer months depending on whether individuals are reproductive or non-reproductive. Combining data from reproductive classes of adult females may mask important roost characteristics unique to maternity colonies of bats.

Two new species of Leptus Latreille, 1796 (Acari, Erythraeidae) from the U.S.A.

Abstract Leptus nearcticus n. sp. and Leptus indianensis n. sp. are described from opilionids (phalangids), Leiobunum spp., from Indiana, U.S.A. They are the first species of this genus described from North America.

Bat Rabies in Indiana

Abstract Our objective was to determine rates of rabies infection in bats submitted to the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) between species, over time, and in normally behaving bats. Those are important questions for public health reasons and also for protection of bats. Bats were tested by ISDH by using the immunofluorescent method. We tested 8,262 bats for rabies at the ISDH from 1966 to 2003, of which 445 (5.4%) tested positive. The 2 most common species, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus; n = 5,584; 173 [3.1%] rabid), and the red bat (Lasiurus borealis; n = 1,512; 169 [11.2%] rabid), accounted for 85.9% of submissions. We found the highest rates of rabies in the hoary bat (L. cinereus; 54 of 178 [30.3%] rabid) and eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus; 41 of 314 [13.1%] rabid). Rates of rabies in other species ranged from 3.7% in the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) to zero in Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis) and evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis). The above data were mostly for incapacitated bats that people found sick or dead rather than normally behaving bats. None of 259 normally behaving big brown bats examined from areas where rabid bats had occurred were rabid. Levels of rabies in the big brown bat remained relatively stable throughout the study period with peak activity during late summer and fall.

Studies on the idiosomal and leg chaetotaxy of the Cheyletidae (acari) with descriptions of a new genus and four new species

Abstract Camincheyletus glaucomys, n. gen., n. sp., Acaropsellina sumwersi, n. sp., and Eucheyletia oregonensis, n. sp., are described from specimens collected from the nest of northern flying squirrels in Wallowa County, Oregon. Cheletopkyes indiacus, n. sp. is described from specimens collected from a carpenter bee in Kerala, India. A key to the species is provided for Acaropsellina summers, Cheletopkyes Oudemans, and Eucheyletia Baker. A redescription of Laeliocheyletia teretis Summers and Price is presented. A comparison of the leg setae of all available stages indicates changes during development.

Diet of the Mole Scalopus aquaticus from the Coastal Plain Region of South Carolina1

Abstract We examined the stomach contents of 374 eastern moles (Scalopus aquaticus) collected throughout the year from the Coastal Plain region of South Carolina. On average, stomach contents of males weighed significantly more than did those of females. Fifty-two different food items were recorded. The three most important foods were scarabaeid beetle larvae, ants and centipedes. Earthworms were observed in only 8.3% of the stomachs examined and represented only about 3% of the mean percent volume of the diet. Ants comprised 15.4% of the total volume. Twenty-nine species of ant were recorded; of these, four were taxa not previously reported to occur on the SRS. The imported red fire ant Solenopsis invicta was common within the study area; however, no individuals of this species were found in any of the mole stomachs.

Food of the Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis) on Cumberland Island, Georgia

Abstract The main foods of 73 Blarina carolinensis (southern short-tailed shrews) taken during 2003 and 2004 on Cumberland Island, GA, were the introduced terrestrial amphipod, Talitroides topitotum (Amphipoda, 21.8% volume), larval beetles (Coleoptera, 12.4%), centipedes (Chilopoda, 11.8%), earthworms (Annelida, 9.1%), moth larvae (Lepidoptera, 8.6%), and spiders (Araneae, 7.4%). The primary foods identified in this study were similar to results from a study in South Carolina, except that amphipods, T. topitotum, comprised 21.8% of the Georgia food, but did not occur in the South Carolina sample, and subterranean fungi Endogonaceae made up 16.8% of the South Carolina food, but only 3.8% in Georgia. The importance of amphipods in the diet in coastal Georgia was probably due to the great abundance of these amphipods in the study area. Talitroides topitotum is a terrestrial amphipod of Indo-Pacific origin and this is apparently the first report of this species from Georgia. There was little seasonal variation among the primary foods, but centipedes and ants were eaten most heavily in spring, annelids and spiders in summer, and fungi in winter.

Ectoparasites from beavers from Massachusetts and Maine

Abstract Seven species of beaver mites, Schizocarpus paramingaudi Fain & Whitaker, indianensis Fain et al, postannulatus Fain & Whitaker, virgulatus Fain et al, subvirgulatus Fain et al, inversus Fain et al and spinifer Fain et al were found on three beavers from Massachusetts. Twelve were found on five beavers from Maine, S. mingaudi Trouessart, paramingaudi, alaskensis Fain & Whitaker, reductus Fain & Whitaker, indianensis, tetrapilis Fain et al, postannulatus, distinctus Fain & Whitaker, subvirgulatus, inversus, posticus Fain & Whitaker, protinus Fain & Whitaker, and spinifer. Beaver mites are normally restricted to specific parts of the beaver, and 93.3% of 1162 male adult mites identified were found on the expected part of the beaver as hypothesized. The beaver mite communities from Maine and Alaska, and also from Maine and Indiana were the most similar of four compared, whereas those from Massachusetts and Maine were the least similar. This departure from the expected may have been due to transplant...