DOCSLIB.ORG

Bats of the Antillean Island of Grenada: a New Zoogeographic Perspective

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bats of the Antillean Island of Grenada: a New Zoogeographic Perspective University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Mammalogy Papers: University of Nebraska State Museum Museum, University of Nebraska State 8-31-1998 Bats of the Antillean Island of Grenada: A New Zoogeographic Perspective Hugh H. Genoways University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Carleton J. Phillips Illinois State University Robert J. Baker Texas Tech University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/museummammalogy Part of the Biodiversity Commons, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, and the Zoology Commons Genoways, Hugh H.; Phillips, Carleton J.; and Baker, Robert J., "Bats of the Antillean Island of Grenada: A New Zoogeographic Perspective" (1998). Mammalogy Papers: University of Nebraska State Museum. 98. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/museummammalogy/98 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Museum, University of Nebraska State at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mammalogy Papers: University of Nebraska State Museum by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Museum of Texas Tech University NUMBER 177 31 AUGUST 1998 BATS OF THE ANTILLEAN ISLAND OF GRENADA: A NEW ZOOGEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE The island of Grenada is the southemmost of the We have studied and collected bats on Grenada on Lesser Antilles, lying 130 km north of Trinidad and 135 5 occasions-10-12 August 1967 (Phillips); 22-26 May km north ofthe Venezuelan mainland. It measures 34 1980 (Baker and Genoways); 28 May to 2 June 1986 Iun north to south and 19 h east to west and has an area (Genoways and Phillips); 26 to 29 May 1987 (Genoways of 3 12 square km. Grenada and the Grenadines north- md Phillips), and 18-19 July 1989 (Phillips). Vegeta- ward to Bequia stand on the large submarine Grenada tion and sites that we visited are discussed in the species Bank. At 183 m depth, the bank is 179 km long. The accounts below. Generally, there is great variety in the Grenadines cover the bank to its northern end, but the island's plant communities. Most of the original native bank extends for 39 km south of Grenada with no is- forest was cleared during the plantation era so what is lands. During the last Ice Age, Grenada and the Grena- seen today is primarily secondary growth. The Grand dines must have been one large island that extended %om fitang Reserve in the southern mountains covers 1520 within 2 km of St. Vincent in the north to within 80 km ha and protects the forest and the island's watershed. Be- of South America in the south. cause the prevailing wind is from the east, the western side of the island is relatively arid in comparison to the Grenada is a volcanic island with many extinct cra- eastern coastal zone and montane slopes. In the south- ters, including the one occupied by Grand hang Lake, west and along the rocky west coast, vegetation is domi- Iocated at 530 m and covering 14 ha. A central ridge of nated by arid tropical and scrubland plants, includ~ng mountains runs like a north to south "spine" with Mount agave, prickly pear and other cacti, acacia, and calabash St. Catherine at 840 m the highest point. The island has trees. Other areas, especially the east coast, have man- an average annual temperature of 29°C. Rainfall varies grove swamps, low wet areas used for tropical agncul- from 75 cm annually in the Point Salines area on the ture, and coconuts. The higher elevations have rainforest southwestern coast to 150 crn in other coastal areas to with trees, including mahogany, teak, saman, and blue 380 cm in the mountainous interior. The rainy season mahoe, reaching up to 30 rn to form a canopy. These lasts fiom June to December, with November usually the areas include a variety of other native plant species such wettest month. Grenada lies south of the primary hurri- as bamboo, helicons, balsa, mountain cabbage palm, and cane belt and was last hit by a major hurricane in 1955, blrd of paradise flower. Grenada is known, as the Island when Hurricane Janet hit the island with winds ofup to of Spice and has numerous exotic cultivated spices and 210kph. Neompical fruit bees, including bananas, bay, breadfruit, 2 OCCASIONAL PAPERS, MUSEUM OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY cocoa, guava, mango, nulmeg, papaya, passion hit, pi- from the island. In fact, it was the first species to be geon peas, pimento, sugar apple, soursop, turmeric, and reported from Grenada @obson, 1878), but we find no vanilla. evidence of a contemporary population of this bat on Grenada. We, thus, consider the one existing specimen Based on our studies, the chiropteran fauna of to be an erroneous record or an accidental occurrence. Grenada consists of I2 species including representatives G.M. Allen was the first scientist to make a systematic of the families Emballonuridae (I species), collection ofbats from Grenada when he visited the is- Mormoopidae (I), Noctilionidae (I), Phyllostomidae land in August and September of 1910. His report of (71, Vespertillonidae (I), and Molossidae (1). A thir- this collection (Allen, 191 1) recorded the occurrence teenth species, Carolliapevspicillata, has been reported of six species on the island. Species accounts given below are arranged in sys- meters (m), area in square kilometers (sq km) and hect- tematic order and present data on systematics, habitats, ares (ha), and rainfall in centimeters (cm). Statistical dishbution, and reproduction for each species. All lin- analyses were performed using the StatViewa software ear measurements are gven in millimeters and were taken package (Sager, 1992). The paired t-test gave standard with electronic calipers. Distances are recorded in ki- statistics for each sample and statistical significance of lometers (km) or miles (mi), depending upon the units differences in group means. from the orignal collector. Elevations md depths are in We would like to thank the museums serving as of Nebraska State Mnseum (UNSM). Funding for our repositories for specimens used in this study, including work came from a variety of sources and related projects, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH); British in particular NIH (RO 1 to CSP and DEP), Hofstra Uni- Museum (Natural History) (BMNH); Section of Mam- versity HCLAS grants (CJP), and Research Council, mals, Carnegle Museum ofNatura1 History (CM); Mu- University ofNebraska-Lincoln (HHG).We would like seum of Natural History, University of Kansas (KU); to express gratitude to our field companions in doing Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University this study, especially Dorothy E. Pumo (DEP) and Scott (MCZ); National Museum of Natural History, C. Pedersen. Figure 1 was prepared by Angre Fox, Staff Smithsonian Institution (NMNH); The Museum of Texas Artist, University ofNebraska State Museum. Tech University mu);Division of Zoology, Unive~ity SPECIES ACCOUNTS Peropteryx macratis phnea documents that the species has been a member of the G. M. Allen, 191 1 chiropteran fauna of the island. Because the most re- Lesser Doglike Bat cent date of capture for this species is 29 August 1910, it is tempting to think that the species no longer inhabits Specimens examined (50).- ST. ANDREW: Mt. the island. The authors have spent extensive time sur- Pleasant Btate [near Adelph], 24 m).ST. DAVID: veying areas where the species was taken previously, but Westerhall, 2 (NMNH). ST. GEORGE: Point Salines, our work was almost exclusively done using mist nets. 23 (MCZ).PARISH UNKNOWN: no specific locality, G. M. Allen (19 11) made the following statement con- 1 (BMNH). cerning the collecting of Peropteyx at Point Salines: " We found these bats in but one spot, a rather open cave Remarks- This species was not taken during our on the seacliffs at Point Saline [= Point Salines], the ex- various surveys on Grenada; however, it was taken on treme southern end of the island. They dung by both several occasions by earlier investigators, which firmly hind feet to the rough surfaces of the rocks, usually in GENOWAYS ET AL.BATS OF GrCENADA well-shaded, overhangmg places; but, on being disturbed, (1976) stated no reasons for this decision in Venezuela, would flit farther into the darker recesses of the cave. but Brosset and Charles-Dominique (1990) working in Others, however, flew about under a tree near the mouth French Guiana distinguished the two taxa based on the of the cave, but eventually took shelter in adjoining fis- drffering shape of the ears and traps and the shorter skull sures." A note on the specimens in the large collection (greatest length of skull: 24.0-15.2versus 13.2, 13.2) of bats from Mt. Pleasant Estate stated "taken in rocks" with smaller teeth (length of maxillary toothrow: 5.3- and a note on the two specimens from Westerhall Estate 6.0 versus 4.7,4.8) of P. trinitatus. Jones and Hood stated "taken in hollow rock." We have not searched mk (1993) in a synopsis of South American emballonurids crevices and small caves on the island and hswill be included both trinitatus andphaea as subspecies of P. required before P. wzacrotis can be said to no longer oc- mcscrotis, although this was done without comments on cur on Grenada. their reasons. Koopman (1994) uses the name P. m. phaea for the population on Grenada. Although it is dificult to evaluate the gender ratio of bats in research collections (it is impossible to know Comparing the measurements of our specimens the selective actions, if any, of the collector), it is inter- from Grenada (Table I) with those from other regions esting to notice that the ratio of females to males in our where similar data are available, it is clear that the two largest samples were f 2:12 at Mt.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Sampling of the Bats of Nicaragua
    By Carol Chambers White-throated round-eared bats (Lophostoma si/vico/um) roost in termite nests in trees in Nicaragua's Paso del lstmo, as they do elsewhere in Central America. he few remaining patches of old-growth quences for forests and wildlife. My colleagues and I came to tropical dry forest of Nicaragua's Paso del Nicaragua to study how forest fragmentation impacts bat com­ T Istmo offer enchanting landscapes. Shaded munities. That research continues, but we've already made some and cool, they are alive with movement and sound as monkeys, exciting discoveries. birds and other creatures cavort among the trees. At night, fire­ I had visited this area previously with Suzanne Hagell, a for­ flies flicker like stars, creating the illusion of a night sky beneath mer graduate student at Northern Arizona University. Using ge­ the forest canopy. Tree trunks can be massive columns, as wide netic analysis, she discovered that black-handed spider monkeys as a picnic table, or tall sculptures buttressed with fins at the (Ateles geojfroyi) were significantly inbred, largely because of base. The hillsides are webbed with narrow paths created over their limited ability to move among the few large, disconnected many years by people, livestock or leaf-cutter ants. forest patches remaining on this landscape. Bats, however, are In contrast, traversing the young forests is often slow, hot more mobile than monkeys so their genetic diversity may be and difficult work. The small trees, shrubs and vines struggling less affected by forest fragmentation. to refill cleared terrain act as barricades to movement.
    [Show full text]
  • Artibeus Jamaicensis (Jamaican Fruit Bat) Family: Phyllostomidae (Leaf-Nosed Bats) Order: Chiroptera (Bats) Class: Mammalia (Mammals)
    UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago Ecology Artibeus jamaicensis (Jamaican Fruit Bat) Family: Phyllostomidae (Leaf-nosed Bats) Order: Chiroptera (Bats) Class: Mammalia (Mammals) Fig. 1. Jamaican fruit bat, Atribeus jamaicensis. [http://www.aquablog.ca/2014/08/featured-animal-the-jamaican-fruit-bat/ downloaded 4 March 2015] TRAITS. These are medium sized species of bats, which weigh between 40-60g and grow to a length of 75-85mm with a wing span that varies between 48-67mm. The back of their body is covered with an ashy shade of brown, greyish or black, short, soft, pleasant smelling fur with white hair roots that gives the bat a faintly hoary (frosted) appearance (Fig. 1). Their ventral underfur is usually paler in colour than its dorsal underfur and back fur (Rafferty 2011). Their genus is recognized by their four pale white facial stripes above and below their eyes (Fleming et al. 1972). Their wings are broad and displays a dark grey or black colour. They have an interfemoral membrane that is thin, hairless and has a short calcar. They have a protruding nose leaf and lacks an external tail. Their ears are small, pointed and rigid with a jagged tragus. Their bottom lip is covered in warts and has a large one in the middle (Ortega and Castro-Arellano 2001). Both the bottom and top lips of the Jamaican fruit bat has sebaceous glands (Dalquest et al. 1952). Both males and females are alike (Morrison 2011). UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago Ecology DISTRIBUTION.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecosystem Services Provided by Bats
    Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. ISSN 0077-8923 ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Issue: The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology Ecosystem services provided by bats Thomas H. Kunz,1 Elizabeth Braun de Torrez,1 Dana Bauer,2 Tatyana Lobova,3 and Theodore H. Fleming4 1Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. 2Department of Geography, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. 3Department of Biology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. 4Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona Address for correspondence: Thomas H. Kunz, Ph.D., Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215. [email protected] Ecosystem services are the benefits obtained from the environment that increase human well-being. Economic valuation is conducted by measuring the human welfare gains or losses that result from changes in the provision of ecosystem services. Bats have long been postulated to play important roles in arthropod suppression, seed dispersal, and pollination; however, only recently have these ecosystem services begun to be thoroughly evaluated. Here, we review the available literature on the ecological and economic impact of ecosystem services provided by bats. We describe dietary preferences, foraging behaviors, adaptations, and phylogenetic histories of insectivorous, frugivorous, and nectarivorous bats worldwide in the context of their respective ecosystem services. For each trophic ensemble, we discuss the consequences of these ecological interactions on both natural and agricultural systems. Throughout this review, we highlight the research needed to fully determine the ecosystem services in question. Finally, we provide a comprehensive overview of economic valuation of ecosystem services.
    [Show full text]
  • Caribbean Naturalist No
    Caribbean Naturalist No. 21 2014 A Brief Description of the Diet and Feeding Behavior of the Jamaican Fruit Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica François Fabianek The Caribbean Naturalist . ♦ A peer-reviewed and edited interdisciplinary natural history science journal with a re- gional focus on the Caribbean ( ISSN 2326-7119 [online]). ♦ Featuring research articles, notes, and research summaries on terrestrial, fresh-water, and marine organisms, and their habitats. The journal's versatility also extends to pub- lishing symposium proceedings or other collections of related papers as special issues. ♦ Focusing on field ecology, biology, behavior, biogeography, taxonomy, evolution, anatomy, physiology, geology, and related fields. Manuscripts on genetics, molecular biology, anthropology, etc., are welcome, especially if they provide natural history in- sights that are of interest to field scientists. ♦ Offers authors the option of publishing large maps, data tables, audio and video clips, and even powerpoint presentations as online supplemental files. ♦ Proposals for Special Issues are welcome. ♦ Arrangements for indexing through a wide range of services, including Web of Knowledge (includes Web of Science, Current Contents Connect, Biological Ab- stracts, BIOSIS Citation Index, BIOSIS Previews, CAB Abstracts), PROQUEST, SCOPUS, BIOBASE, EMBiology, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences (CABS), EBSCOHost, VINITI (All-Russian Institute of Scientific and Technical Information), FFAB (Fish, Fisheries, and Aquatic Biodiversity Worldwide), WOW (Waters and Oceans Worldwide), and Zoological Record, are being pursued. ♦ The journal staff is pleased to discuss ideas for manuscripts and to assist during all stages of manuscript preparation. The journal has a mandatory page charge to help defray a portion of the costs of publishing the manuscript.
    [Show full text]
  • Jamaican Fruit Bats (Artibeus Jamaicensis) Do Not Show Prosocial Behavior in a Release Paradigm
    Article Dynamic Duos? Jamaican Fruit Bats (Artibeus jamaicensis) Do Not Show Prosocial Behavior in a Release Paradigm Eric Hoffmaster and Jennifer Vonk * Department of Psychology, Oakland University, 2200 N Squirrel Rd, Rochester, MI 48309, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-248-370-2318 Academic Editor: Scott J. Hunter Received: 7 October 2016; Accepted: 16 November 2016; Published: 20 November 2016 Abstract: Once thought to be uniquely human, prosocial behavior has been observed in a number of species, including vampire bats that engage in costly food-sharing. Another social chiropteran, Jamaican fruit bats (Artibeus jamaicensis), have been observed to engage in cooperative mate guarding, and thus might be expected to display prosocial behavior as well. However, frugivory and hematophagy diets may impose different selection pressures on prosocial preferences, given that prosocial preferences may depend upon cognitive abilities selected by different ecological constraints. Thus, we assessed whether Jamaican fruit bats would assist a conspecific in an escape paradigm in which a donor could opt to release a recipient from an enclosure. The test apparatus contained two compartments—one of which was equipped with a sensor that, once triggered, released the trap door of the adjacent compartment. Sixty-six exhaustive pairs of 12 bats were tested, with each bat in each role, twice when the recipient was present and twice when absent. Bats decreased their behavior of releasing the trapdoor in both conditions over time, decreasing the behavior slightly more rapidly in the recipient absent condition. Bats did not release the door more often when recipients were present, regardless of the recipient; thus, there was no clear evidence of prosocial behavior.
    [Show full text]
  • Unraveling Molecular Mechanisms of Immunity and Cancer-Resistance
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.09.290502; this version posted September 9, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. Unraveling molecular mechanisms of immunity and cancer-resistance using the genomes of the Neotropical bats Artibeus jamaicensis and Pteronotus mesoamericanus Armin Scheben1, Olivia Mendivil Ramos2, Melissa Kramer2, Sara Goodwin2, Sara Oppenheim3, Daniel J Becker4, Michael C Schatz1,5, Nancy B Simmons6, Adam Siepel1*, W Richard McCombie2* 1 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 2 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 3 American Museum of Natural History, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, New York, NY 4 University of Oklahoma, Department of Biology, Norman, OK 5 Johns Hopkins University, Departments of Computer Science and Biology, Baltimore, MD 6 American Museum of Natural History, Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, New York, NY *To whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected], [email protected] Abstract Bats are exceptional among mammals for harbouring diverse pathogens and for their robust immune systems. In addition, bats are unusually long-lived and show low rates of cancer. Contiguous and complete reference genomes are needed to determine the genetic basis of these adaptations and establish bats as models for research into mammalian health. Here we sequenced and analysed the genomes of the Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) and the Mesoamerican mustached bat (Pteronotus mesoamericanus).
    [Show full text]
  • Bats in Captivity Is the Only Manual of Its Kind, Detailing the Captive Care of Both Native and Exotic Bat Species
    1 Комплектовано от Хинко www.hinko.org ABOUT THE BOOK A manual intended for all bat-care personnel, Bats in Captivity is the only manual of its kind, detailing the captive care of both native and exotic bat species. Material presented in this text is compiled from many years of experience in the captive care of over a dozen species of bats, from assistance to the zoological community and wildlife rehabilitators nationwide, and from published sources. The book includes successful methods for hand raising infant fruit, vampire and insectivorous bats. Also included is information on bat rehabilitation, transport, exhibition, environment, housing, nutrition, medical and necropsy considerations, plus much more. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Susan M. Barnard holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the State of New York. She founded Basically Bats - Wildlife Conservation Society, Inc. in 1993, and served as Executive Director until 2008. Currently retired from her position as Assistant Curator of Herpetology at Zoo Atlanta, Ms. Barnard has authored over 25 scientific papers in refereed journals and 2 book chapters. She also co-authored books on reptilian parasites and reptilian husbandry, and has appeared in numerous magazines and on television, including the National Geographic special, "Keepers of the Wild". 2 Комплектовано от Хинко www.hinko.org Sue with her first handraised bat, Egore. Egore, a big brown bat, lived 9 1/2 years, during which time she helped educate thousands of people about the benefits of these misunderstood animals (photo courtesy of Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International). 3 Комплектовано от Хинко www.hinko.org ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My deepest appreciation to Tom and Joann Johnson for their incredible friendship and assistance in constructing bat cages, shipping boxes, and bat houses, Michelle Connor for printing the cover of this book, and to my mother, Kathleen O.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 24 Issue 3 June 2010 Catching Bats in Barbados
    The The Kansas City Area Grotto Volume 24 Issue 3 Guano June 2010 Catching bats in Barbados Elemental Experiences New Mexico Caving Table of Contents Events Catching bats in Barbados ­ July 2008 August 2-6 National Speleological Society annual Article by Jerry Cindric. Photos by Jerry Cindric and convention. Essex, Vermont. Gary Kwiecinski. http://www.nss2010.com/default.php for information and registration. Page 4 August 14 Exposed to the Elements ­ MVOR Spring 2010 Carroll Cave Conservancy annual Article by Lorely Lather. Photos by Bill Gee members meeting. 10:00am at the Mid- County Fire Department station in Page 11 Camdenton. Caving in New Mexico ­ April 2010 October 22-24 Fall MVOR. Camp Oko-Tipi near Article by Jerry Cindric. Photos by Rick Hines. Hannibal, MO. Sponsored by PEG and Page 14 Choteau Grotto. 2 The Guano The Guano June 2010, Volume 24, Issue 3 The Guano A Message From is published on an irregular schedule as dictated by the trip reports submitted to the editor. Submit articles via e-mail to the editor: the President [email protected]. Preferred file format for trip report attachments: Not only is White Nose Syndrome (WNS) sucking up most Microsoft Word. Please submit photos of the oxygen in our grotto meetings, it’s also sucking up all in JPG or PNG format. the space in these President’s messages. I wish I had something more pleasant to talk about … but I don’t. Guano subscription rate for nonmembers: $6.00 annually. Since the last issue of the Guano appeared, a bat infected Electronic: FREE.
    [Show full text]
  • Bats of St. Kitts (St
    Caribbean Journal of Science, Vol. 41, No. 4, 744-760, 2005 Copyright 2005 College of Arts and Sciences University of Puerto Rico, Mayagu¨ez Bats of St. Kitts (St. Christopher), Northern Lesser Antilles, with Comments Regarding Capture Rates of Neotropical Bats SCOTT C. PEDERSEN1*, HUGH H. GENOWAYS2,MATHEW N. MORTON3, GARY G. KWIECINSKI4, AND SIAˆ N E. COURTS3 1South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota 57007 2University of Nebraska State Museum, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 3Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Trinity, Jersey, JE3 5BP, United Kingdom 4University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510 *Corresponding Author: [email protected] ABSTRACT.—Only four species of bats have been previously reported from the Antillean island of St. Kitts—Noctilio leporinus, Artibeus jamaicensis, Molossus molossus, and Tadarida brasiliensis. Our field research reported herein adds three species to this list—Monophyllus plethodon, Ardops nichollsi,and Brachyphylla cavernarum. These efforts included mist netting in a variety of foraging habitats and extensive surveys of natural and anthropogenic roost sites. We discuss the difficulty in accurately reporting mist- netting effort and capture rates. The average rate of fruit bat captures during 2001 on St. Kitts (1.11 bats per net-night - BNN) falls towards the lower end of the range (0.65-2.47 BNN) reported from nearby islands in the northern Lesser Antilles and the lower end of the range (2.20-5.93 BNN) reported for mainland popula- tions of neotropical fruit bats. We discuss possible causes of these decreased population levels, such as the impact of recent hurricanes and competition from the large population of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus sabaeus) found on St.
    [Show full text]
  • Tropics Tropics
    AR T I F I C I A L RO O S T S BATS A N D BI R D S FO R RE S T O R I N G RA I N F O R E S T S CL I M A T E CH A N G E &BATS TAG-TE A M HE L P F O R CO F F E E W W W . B A T C O N . O R G S U M M E R 2 0 0 8 BATSBATSB A T C O N S E R V A T I O N I N T E R N A T I O N A L BATSOF THE TTROPICSROPICS Vo l u m e 2 6 , N o . 2 , S U M M E R 2 0 0 8 P.O.Box 162603, Austin, Texas 78716 BATS (512) 327-9721 • Fax (512) 327-9724 Publications Sta ff FEATURES D i re c tor of Publications: Ro b e rt Locke P h oto Edito r: Me e ra Ba n t a G raphic Art i st: Jason Hu e rt a 1 New Respect for Tropical Bats C o pye d i to rs: Angela England, Valerie Locke Demonstrating the value of insect-eating bats BAT S welcomes queries from writers. Send your article pro- posal with a brief outline and a description of any photos to by Margareta Kalka the address above or via e-mail to: p u b s @ b a t c o n .
    [Show full text]
  • Hearing in American Leaf-Nosed Bats. IV: the Common Vampire Bat, Desmodus Rotundus
    Hearing Research 296 (2013) 42e50 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Hearing Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/heares Research paper Hearing in American leaf-nosed bats. IV: The Common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus Rickye S. Heffner*, Gimseong Koay, Henry E. Heffner 1 Deptartment of Psychology #948, University of Toledo, 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, OH 43606, USA article info abstract Article history: We behaviorally determined the audiograms of three Common vampire bats (Phyllostomidae, Desmodus Received 27 July 2012 rotundus), a species specialized to exist exclusively on blood. The bats were trained to respond to pure Received in revised form tones in a conditioned suppression/avoidance procedure for a blood reward and a mild punisher for 1 September 2012 failures to detect the tones. Common vampire bats have a hearing range from 716 Hz to 113 kHz at a level Accepted 3 September 2012 of 60 dB. Their best hearing is at 20 kHz where they are slightly more sensitive than other bats, and they Available online 27 November 2012 have a second peak of good sensitivity at 71 kHz. They have unusually good sensitivity to low frequencies compared to other bats, but are less sensitive to low frequencies than most mammals. Selective pressures affecting high-frequency hearing in bats and mammals in general are discussed. Ó 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction and Condon, 1998); these in turn may exert different pressures on hearing that should become apparent in a more extensive sample of Despite a common inner ear design and organization of the bats.
    [Show full text]
  • Activity Patterns of Costa Rican Bat Species Orsi 1 Activity Patterns Of
    Activity Patterns of Costa Rican Bat Species Orsi 1 Activity Patterns of Costa Rican Bat Species Nicole Orsi Department of Biological Sciences University of California, San Diego EAP Tropical Biology and Conservation Program, Fall 2017 14 December 2017 ABSTRACT In Costa Rica, bats are important nocturnal pollinators and seed dispersers. In this study, I investigated how diet type, species, levels of moonlight and moon phases, and nightly weather influenced the activity of bats. To do this, I used mist nets and an ultrasound detector for 11 nights to capture bats and record their species, sex, diet, and forearm length. Each night two to four mist nets were open from 17:30 to 20:00 and checked at 20 minute intervals. Nets were placed in Bajo del Tigre, the Monteverde Institute, San Luis, the Crandell Memorial Reserve, and La Estación Biológica Monteverde. I compared the time of each bat captured in terms of species and diet, and the number of individual bats captured per night to the corresponding moon phase, moon altitude, and weather. Of 23 total bats caught, 9 were different species. I found no clear species-specific activity patterns. When comparing data across different diet types (insecti- vore, frugivore, nectarivore), there was a clear pattern of insectivore activity peaking around 18:00, nectarivore activity around 19:00, and frugivore activity occurring throughout the mist netting period. This finding is corroborated by the fact that peak insect activity occurs immedi- ately after sunset and is therefore the optimal feeding time for insectivores. The activity of nectar bats could be correlated with what time the desired flower opens.
    [Show full text]