Mean and standard error of the mean (SEM) for body mass, white blood cell count (WBC) and bacterial killing activity (BKA) of 24 Neotropical bat species.

White blood cells have been counted on 10 visual fields under 200×magnification with a microscope on a monolayer smear. WBC gives the mean number of cells per visual field. Storage time (ST) of the plasma is given as mean days the samples have been stored at −80°C until assessment of BKA. Diet was drawn from La Val and Rodriguez [37], and species were assigned to three dietary niches: Carnivory (sanguinivorous vampire bat Desmodus rotundus, Trachops cirrhosus who is specialised on frogs, as well as Phyllostomus hastatus, who is omnivorous with a preference for vertebrates [60]), phytophagy (frugivorous and nectarivorous species) and insectivory. Roost category was drawn from Patterson and colleagues [26].