Presence of coronaviruses in the common pipistrelle (P. pipistrellus) and Nathusius´ pipistrelle (P. nathusii) in relation to landscape composition ...

• Main Authors: Jaramillo Ortiz, Laura, Begeman, Lineke, Schillemans, Marcel, Kuiken, Thijs, De Boer, Willem Frederik, Becker, Daniel
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2023
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Chordata; Animalia; bats; bat; Pipistrellus nathusii; Pipistrellus pipistrellus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13447580; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13447580

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Changes in land use can modify habitat and roosting behaviour of bats, and therefore the transmission dynamics of viruses. Within bat roosts the density and contact rate among individuals increase and may facilitate the transmission of bat coronaviruses (CoVs). Landscape components supporting larger bat populations may thus lead to higher CoVs prevalence, as the number of roosts and/or roost size are likely to be higher. Hence, relationships between landscape composition and the presence of CoVs are expected to exist. To increase our understanding of the spread and shedding of coronaviruses in bat populations we studied the relationships between landscape composition and CoVs prevalence in the species Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus nathusii . Faecal samples were collected across The Netherlands, and were screened to detect the presence of CoV RNA. Coordinates were recorded for all faecal samples, so that landscape attributes could be quantified. ...