scholarly journals Do bats use guano and urine stains to find new roosts? Tests with three group-living bats

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 201055
Author(s):  
Bridget K. G. Brown ◽  
Lauren Leffer ◽  
Yesenia Valverde ◽  
Nia Toshkova ◽  
Jessica Nystrom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Desmodus Rotundus ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Social Calls ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
Molossus Molossus ◽  
Artificial Roost

Many animals use social cues to find refuges. Bats can find roosts using the echolocation and social calls of conspecifics, but they might also use scent cues, a possibility which is less studied. The entrances of bat roosts are often marked by guano and urine, providing possible scent cues. We conducted eight experiments to test whether bats use the scent of guano and urine to find potential roosts. In field experiments, we tested if Molossus molossus (velvety free-tailed bats) in Panama and Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bats) in Ohio would investigate artificial roost boxes that were scented with guano and urine more often than a paired unscented control. We did not detect any difference in flights near the scented versus unscented roosts, and we detected only one entrance into any artificial roost (scented). In six captive experiments, we tested for the attraction of Desmodus rotundus (common vampire bats) and Molossus molossus to areas scented with guano and urine, under several conditions. Results were mixed, but overall suggested that the scent of guano and urine does not act as a strong lure for the tested bat species. We suggest that further tests of olfaction-based roost choice in bats should manipulate existing scent cues on familiar roosts.

White-winged vampire bats (Diaemus youngi) exchange contact calls

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (7) ◽  
pp. 604-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. G. Carter ◽  
M. B. Fenton ◽  
P. A. Faure
Keyword(s):  
Group Living ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Social Calls ◽  
Equal Distance ◽  
Antiphonal Calling ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
Contact Calls ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Vampire Bat

Temporally precise vocal exchanges, termed “antiphonal calling”, might allow pair or group members to maintain social contact with greater efficiency than when calling independently. The white-winged vampire bat ( Diaemus youngi (Jentink, 1893)) is a group-living species that produces social calls in antiphonal exchanges. Because white-winged vampire bats can use social calls to discriminate conspecifics, we suspect that one function of these vocal exchanges is to allow group members to know who is where. Here, we tested the prediction that antiphonal calling by groups of white-winged vampire bats increases when the spatial positions of conspecifics change. We recorded social calls from groups of four individually caged bats in total darkness, with each bat located in the corner of a 4 m × 4 m room. During test trials, we shifted the spatial positions of caged bats to new positions. During control trials, caged bats were displaced an equal distance but were returned to their original positions. We found that both the number of social calls and the proportion of antiphonal exchanges were greater during test trials than during control trials. These results suggest that white-winged vampire bats use antiphonal exchanges of social calls to monitor the spatial positions of conspecifics.

Repertoire and possible functions of social calls in foraging big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus).

2010 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 1893-1893
Author(s):  
Genevieve S. Wright ◽  
Chen Chiu ◽  
Cynthia F. Moss
Keyword(s):  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Social Calls

scholarly journals Social calls of flying big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus)

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve S. Wright ◽  
Chen Chiu ◽  
Wei Xian ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson ◽  
Cynthia F. Moss
Keyword(s):  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Social Calls

The influence of roost closure on the roosting and foraging behaviour of Eptesicus fuscus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 1128-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Mark Brigham ◽  
M. Brock Fenton
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Direct Observation ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Maximum Distance ◽  
Radio Tracking ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Foraging Flight

We used radio tracking and direct observation to determine the effect of roost closure on the roosting and foraging behaviour of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in maternity colonies near Ottawa. Individuals were site loyal, but after eviction they moved short distances to new roosts where they tended to produce fewer offspring. The time spent on the first foraging flight, the maximum distance travelled, and the use of feeding areas did not change with exclusion. The results suggest that bats roost to take advantage of site-specific factors that may increase reproductive success.

scholarly journals Sampling Blood from Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in the Field with and without Anesthesia: Impacts on Survival

2006 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 849-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura E. Ellison ◽  
Thomas J. O'Shea ◽  
Jeffrey Wimsatt ◽  
Roger D. Pearce ◽  
Daniel J. Neubaum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Big Brown Bats

Genetic relationships between roost-mates in a fission–fusion society of tree-roosting big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus)

2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 1043-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie D. Metheny ◽  
Matina C. Kalcounis-Rueppell ◽  
Craig K. R. Willis ◽  
Kristen A. Kolar ◽  
R. Mark Brigham
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Big Brown Bats

A record of Siamese twinning in bats

1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Peterson ◽  
M. Brock Fenion
Keyword(s):  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Royal Ontario Museum ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Siamese Twin

Specimens of Siamese twin big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) now in the Royal Ontario Museum appear to represent the first reported occurrence among bats.

scholarly journals Hepatic lipid signatures of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) at early stages of white-nose syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan L. Pannkuk ◽  
Nicole A. S.-Y. Dorville ◽  
Yvonne A. Dzal ◽  
Quinn E. Fletcher ◽  
Kaleigh J. O. Norquay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Metabolism ◽  
Fatty Acid Distribution ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Pseudogymnoascus Destructans ◽  
Hepatic Lipid ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Little Brown Bats

AbstractWhite-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent wildlife fungal disease of cave-dwelling, hibernating bats that has led to unprecedented mortalities throughout North America. A primary factor in WNS-associated bat mortality includes increased arousals from torpor and premature fat depletion during winter months. Details of species and sex-specific changes in lipid metabolism during WNS are poorly understood and may play an important role in the pathophysiology of the disease. Given the likely role of fat metabolism in WNS and the fact that the liver plays a crucial role in fatty acid distribution and lipid storage, we assessed hepatic lipid signatures of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) at an early stage of infection with the etiological agent, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Differences in lipid profiles were detected at the species and sex level in the sham-inoculated treatment, most strikingly in higher hepatic triacylglyceride (TG) levels in E. fuscus females compared to males. Interestingly, several dominant TGs (storage lipids) decreased dramatically after Pd infection in both female M. lucifugus and E. fuscus. Increases in hepatic glycerophospholipid (structural lipid) levels were only observed in M. lucifugus, including two phosphatidylcholines (PC [32:1], PC [42:6]) and one phosphatidylglycerol (PG [34:1]). These results suggest that even at early stages of WNS, changes in hepatic lipid mobilization may occur and be species and sex specific. As pre-hibernation lipid reserves may aid in bat persistence and survival during WNS, these early perturbations to lipid metabolism could have important implications for management responses that aid in pre-hibernation fat storage.

scholarly journals Habituation of common vampire bats to biologgers

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Kline ◽  
Simon P. Ripperger ◽  
Gerald G. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Animal Behaviour ◽  
Desmodus Rotundus ◽  
Vampire Bats ◽  
The Mean

Rapid advancements in biologging technology have led to unprecedented insights into animal behaviour, but testing the effects of biologgers on tagged animals is necessary for both scientific and ethical reasons. Here, we measured how quickly 13 wild-caught and captively isolated common vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus ) habituated to mock proximity sensors glued to their dorsal fur. To assess habituation, we scored video-recorded behaviours every minute from 18.00 to 06.00 for 3 days, then compared the rates of grooming directed to the sensor tag versus to their own body. During the first hour, the mean tag-grooming rate declined dramatically from 53% of sampled time (95% CI = 36–65%, n = 6) to 16% (8–24%, n = 9), and down to 4% by hour 5 (1–6%, n = 13), while grooming of the bat's own body did not decline. When tags are firmly attached, isolated individual vampire bats mostly habituate within an hour of tag attachment. In two cases, however, tags became loose before falling off causing the bats to dishabituate. For tags glued to fur, behavioural data are likely to be impacted immediately after the tag is attached and when it is loose before it falls off.

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