Data from: Habitat and seasonal drivers of leukocyte profiles within and across Neotropical bat species

Land conversion is a dominant form of environmental change that can alter
infection dynamics in wildlife by affecting host immune defense. Such
effects may be compounded by seasonal variation in resources and
reproduction and vary among members of a host community, yet the combined
effects of habitat, season, and species identity on wildlife immunity
remain poorly understood. We tested within- and across-species effects of
land conversion and seasonality on immunity in Neotropical bats by
quantifying hematological markers of physiological stress and
inflammation. We sampled seven species across a large preserve and a
smaller forest fragment in northern Belize during both the dry and wet
seasons. Using phylogenetic generalized linear mixed models, we tested the
overall effects of habitat and season and quantified per-species impacts.
Total white blood cell counts and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios showed
no overall habitat or seasonal effects but displayed strong
species-specific responses. In contrast, the systemic inflammation
response index increased across all species in the dry season and smaller
fragments, suggesting general poor health in unfavorable conditions.
Species-specific effects did not align with dietary guilds, indicating
roles for finer-scale ecological traits. Our findings highlight the
complex, species-dependent effects of environmental change on
wildlife's immune defense.