RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Sick Bats Stay Home Alone: Social distancing during the acute phase response in Egyptian fruit bats (<em>Rousettus aegyptiacus</em>)
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.07.06.189357
DO 10.1101/2020.07.06.189357
A1 Kelsey R. Moreno
A1 Maya Weinberg
A1 Lee Harten
A1 Valeria B. Salinas Ramos
A1 L. Gerardo Herrera M.
A1 Gábor Á. Czirják
A1 Yossi Yovel
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/25/2020.07.06.189357.abstract
AB Along with its many advantages, social roosting imposes a major risk of pathogen transmission. How social animals, and especially free-ranging mammals, reduce this risk is poorly documented. We used lipopolysaccharide injection to imitate bacterial sickness in both a captive and a free-ranging colony of an extremely social, long lived mammal – the Egyptian fruit bat. We monitored behavioral and physiological responses using an arsenal of methods, including on-board GPS and acceleration, video, temperature and weight measurements, and blood samples. Sick-like bats exhibited an increased immune response, as well as classical illness symptoms including fever, weight loss, anorexia, and lethargy. Notably, they also isolated themselves from the group by leaving the social cluster and avoiding contact. Free-ranging individuals ceased foraging outdoors for at least two nights. Together, these sickness behaviors demonstrate a strong, integrative immune response which promotes recovery of infected individuals while protecting their group members from transmission of pathogens, and at the same time, reducing spillover events outside the roost.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.