Abstract
Common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) are a key rabies vector in South America. Improved management of this species requires long-term, region-specific information. To investigate patterns of demography and dispersal, we analysed 13 642 captures of common vampire bats in Northern Argentina from the period 1969–2004. In contrast with findings from more tropical regions, we found reproductive seasonality with peak pregnancy in September and peak lactation in February. Curiously, sex ratios were consistently male-biased both in maternity roosts and at foraging sites. Males comprised 57% of 9509 adults caught at night, 57% of 1078 juveniles caught at night, 57% of 603 juveniles caught in roosts during the day, and 55% of 103 newborns and mature fetuses. Most observed roosts were in man-made structures. Movements of 1.5–54 km were most frequent in adult males, followed by young males, adult females and young females. At night, males visited maternity roosts, and non-pregnant, non-lactating females visited bachelor roosts. Males fed earlier in the night. Finally, we report new longevity records for free-ranging vampire bats: 16 and 17 years of age for a female and male, respectively. Our results are consistent with model predictions that sex-biased movements might play a key role in rabies transmission between vampire bat populations.
Highlights
The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is an obligate blood-feeding bat found from northern Mexico to Uruguay and the centre of Chile and Argentina [1,2]
Over 237 nights, 10 587 common vampire bats were caught in mist-nets, and 3489 of these bats were banded
Pregnancy rates increased from 6% of females in March and peaked at 77% of females in September, while the presence of lactating females increased from 4% in September to a peak of 60% in February
Summary
The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is an obligate blood-feeding bat found from northern Mexico to Uruguay and the centre of Chile and Argentina [1,2]. It is abundant in areas with livestock [3] and feeds mostly on the blood of domesticated cattle, horses, goats, pigs and sheep, and to a lesser extent—poultry, 2017 The Authors. Wildlife and humans [3,4,5,6,7]. As a primary reservoir of rabies in Latin America, vampire bats pose threats to 2 wildlife, agriculture and human health. Vampire-bat-transmitted rabies outbreaks have killed thousands of livestock (annual damages estimated at $30 million USD) and dozens of people in a single year [8,9,10,11,12]
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