Violeta Zhelyazkova

National Museum of Natural History - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences · Vertebrates Department

Recently, numerous studies report bats as reservoirs of emerging pathogens with little to no signs of infections. This is thought to be connected to the unique immune system of bats, which remains poorly characterized. Despite the physiological importance of the Neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) in the homeostasis of IgG antibodies, it is unclear how its...

Healthy wing membranes are essential for bats. They are critical for maintaining the water balance and, during hibernation, they protect the bat’s body from dehydration. Assessing the state of the membrane visually is an easy and effective way to monitor a bat’s health and discover abnormal structures and infections in wild bat populations. During...

White-Nose Disease (WND) has killed millions of hibernating bats in the US and Canada. Its causative agent, the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans was introduced to North America, but is native to Europe and Asia, where it is not associated with mass mortality. Although it is nearly impossible to eradicate an emerging wildlife disease, research on...

Inferences of the interactions between species’ ecological niches and spatial distribution have been historically based on simple metrics such as low-resolution dietary breadth and range size, which might have impeded the identification of meaningful links between niche features and spatial patterns. We analysed the relationship between dietary nic...

Introduced pathogens causing emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are serious contemporary threats to animal, plant, and ecosystem health. The invasive fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has established populations of European origin in North America, resulting in mass mortality of several hibernating bat species. Extensive monitoring for this pa...

The interaction between agricultural production and wildlife can shape, and even condition, the functioning of both systems. In this study we i) explored the degree to which a widespread European bat, namely the common bent-wing bat Miniopterus schreibersii, consumes crop-damaging insects at a continental scale, and ii) tested whether its dietary n...

Emerging infectious diseases are a well-known threat to the wildlife and require complex research. There is a rapidly accumulating knowledge on the infectious disease of bats (White Nose Syndrome - WNS/White Nose Disease - WND) and its causative agent – the pathogenic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Although mass mortality of bats, known since...

High diversity of bats was recorded in Ponor Special Protection Area (Ponor SPA). Thirty-five roosts (29 caves, 4 buildings, 1 gallery and 1 tunnel) were surveyed between 1913 and 2013. Twenty-three species (Rhinolophus blasii, R. euryale, R. ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, Myotis alcathoe, M. bechsteinii, M. blythii, M. brandtii, M. capaccinii, M....

High diversity of bats was recorded in Ponor Special Protection Area (Ponor SPA). Thirty-five roosts (29 caves, 4 buildings, 1 gallery and 1 tunnel) were surveyed between 1913 and 2013. Twenty-three species (Rhinolophus blasii, R. euryale, R. ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, Myotis alcathoe, M. bechsteinii, M. blythii, M. brandtii, M. capaccinii, M....