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Bats are natural reservoirs of protozoal, viral, fungal and bacterial pathogens. However, little has been described about their endoparasites, especially in the Neotropics, despite the fact that this region represents a high taxonomic and functional bat diversity. In this study, we describe gastrointestinal parasites found in faecal samples of Neotropical bats from the Amazon rainforest of Colombia. We characterise the prevalence of parasites by employing flotation and McMaster techniques. We obtained 222 samples, but only 15 bats (6.8%) of the species Carollia brevicauda (n = 9), C. perspicillata (n = 3), Artibeus planirostris (n = 1), A. lituratus (n = 1) and Gardnerycteris crenulatum (n = 1) were positive for gastrointestinal parasites. This is the first survey of bat gastrointestinal parasites conducted in the Colombian Amazon. We report for the first time coccidian parasites in phyllostomid bats from Colombia. We also found nematodes in gestating females, which may suggest a transfer of parasites to the foetus during pregnancy in fruit bats. Besides insectivorous bats, frugivores can also represent a source for gastrointestinal parasites in the Neotropics, but the factors that determine their hosting capacity are still not fully understood. Further research should explore the interactions of wild and domestic hosts with parasites, which could be useful for analysing potential risks to the human population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bergmann's rule is one of the most vigorously debated ecogeographic patterns but has rarely been examined in Neotropical bats. Herein, I examined Bergmann's rule in Carollia perspicillata and Artibeus lituratus along an elevation gradient of 2500 m at both inter- and intraspecific level. I measured 384 specimens from collections belonged to C. perspicillata (89 ♀, 102 ♂) and A. lituratus (89 ♀, 104 ♂). The size of C. perspicillata increased with increasing elevation and decreasing temperature, whereas A. lituratus showed the converse pattern. For both species, females did not differ between elevation categories, contrary to males that were larger above 1000 m in C. perspicillata, but smaller in A. lituratus. Conformity to Bergmann's rule depends on bat size and sex. Despite C. perspicillata follows the pattern, the explanatory mechanisms still need to be understood. By contrast, A. lituratus follows the converse of Bergmann's rule due to naked and highly vascularized wings that aid thermoregulation in warmer environments. Male size is more sensitive to changes in temperature for both species which may be partially explained by sexual selection. Elevation and temperature are not the only factors related to bat morphology and other mechanisms may explain size in bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]