基于血餐iDNA技术对武陵洞蛭专吸蝠血性的研究OACSTPCD

Wuling cave leeches(Sinospelaeobdella wulingensis),the type species of Sinospelaeobdella as well as a kind of troglobites,live with cave-dwelling bats in some karstic caves of relatively stable environmental conditions.They feeds on the blood of cave-dwelling bats,and live in the roof of the caves at all their lives.To explore the exclusively-batblood-sucking of the leeches,from August 2022 to August 2023,appropriate samples and relevant data of micro-habitat characteristics were collected by conventional ways in six caves of S.wulingensis in Xiangxi Tujiazu and Miaozu Autonomous Prefecture,Hunan Province,and a total of 106 host bloodmeal samples of S.wulingensis were identified by iDNA technology.The results showed that:1)The cave leeches usually inhabited some wet and rough cave ceilings,which have a 0.2～0.4 cm thick layer of rock/mud debris,and the population distribution of the leeches was closely related to the roost sites of cave-dwelling bats;2)The hosts of the cave leeches included 11 species from 5 genera and 5 families of Chiroptera,among which Rhinolophus sinicus,Hipposideros armiger and Myotis altarium were the main blood supplier;3)The food diversity index and niche breadth of each S.wulingensis population were lower than the overall levels,while these characteristic indicators in winter were higher than those in other sea-sons.In conclusion,Wuling cave leeches are mainly distributed in the cave roof near where bats often roost.Due to long-term adaptation to cave life,they have evolved a specialized feeding habit and ecological beha-vior,that is,exclusively-batblood-sucking.Further studying the bat blood-sucking nature of the leeches will help to explore the evolutionary path of leech food diversity and reveal the behavioral ecological mechanism of haematophagous leech feeding habits.