The ecology of oxidative stress in bats

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Oxidative stress, an imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants causing molecular damage to cells, is regarded as the main cause of ageing. As pro-oxidant production increases with mass-specific metabolic rates, animals with higher rates should exhibit shorter life spans. However, two vertebrate groups, birds and bats, are an exception to this general rule. Both taxa have low pro-oxidant production rates and high antioxidant levels in blood plasma, a pattern that was suggested to relate to their relatively longer life spans. While antioxidant levels have been found to be influenced mainly by diet, pro-oxidants may increase with immune responses and high parasite loads. The goal of this study is to elucidate the effect of diet, parasite load and immune status on the oxidative stress of free-ranging mammals. I would like to use bats as model organisms for this purpose, because they are ideal for comparative studies considering their species richness and their ecological diversity. By measuring pro-oxidant and antioxidant levels in blood plasma of various Neotropical and European bat species, I hope to shed light on the factors influencing the oxidative stress of free-ranging mammals, and on the yet unanswered question whether a mild oxidative stress is responsible for the longevity of bats.