Host specificity gauges the degree to which a parasite occurs in association with a single
host species. The measure is indicative of properties of the host and parasite, as well as …

Bats are the second most diverse mammalian group, playing keystone roles in ecosystems
but also act as reservoir hosts for numerous pathogens. Due to their colonial habits which …

Concluding remarks Bat flies are highly specialized for a nearly permanent ectoparasitic
relationship with their hosts, the Chiroptera. Although known life-histories are rather similar …

The Smithsonian Venezuela Project (SVP) conducted extensive surveys of mammals and
ectoparasites in the 1960s. The 25 238 individuals and 130 species of bat collected by SVP …

Evidence suggests that behavioural defences, such as habitat selection and grooming
behaviour, have evolved in animals in response to the costs associated with ectoparasites …

Host specificity is the degree to which a parasite species occurs in association with a host
species. 2. The degree to which obligate ectoparasites are host specific has been debated …

Bartonella spp. are globally distributed bacteria that cause endocarditis in humans and
domestic animals. Recent work has suggested bats as zoonotic reservoirs of some human …

Background Understanding the interactions between bat flies and host bats offer us
fundamental insights into the coevolutionary and ecological processes in host-parasite …

Parasites are common in many ecosystems, yet because of their nature, they do not fossilise
readily and are very rare in the geological record. This makes it challenging to study the …

Host specificity gauges the degree to which a parasite occurs in association with host
species and is among the most fundamental properties of parasite–host associations. The …