Habitat disturbance trumps moonlight effects on the activity of tropical insectivorous bats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Appel ◽  
A. López‐Baucells ◽  
R. Rocha ◽  
C. F. J. Meyer ◽  
P. E. D. Bobrowiec
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Disturbance ◽  
Insectivorous Bats

Short-Term Effects of Small-Scale Habitat Disturbance on Activity by Insectivorous Bats

1998 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott D. Grindal ◽  
R. Mark Brigham
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Disturbance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Short Term Effects

scholarly journals Social calls influence the foraging behavior in wild big-footed myotis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongge Guo ◽  
Jianan Ding ◽  
Heng Liu ◽  
Lin Zhou ◽  
Jiang Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Food Competition ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Insect Abundance ◽  
Social Calls ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract Background Why a variety of social animals emit foraging-associated calls during group foraging remains an open question. These vocalizations may be used to recruit conspecifics to food patches (i.e. food advertisement hypothesis) or defend food resources against competitors (food defence hypothesis), presumably depending on food availability. Insectivorous bats rely heavily on vocalizations for navigation, foraging, and social interactions. In this study, we used free-ranging big-footed myotis (Myotis macrodactylus Temminck, 1840) to test whether social calls produced in a foraging context serve to advertise food patches or to ward off food competitors. Using a combination of acoustic recordings, playback experiments with adult females and dietary monitoring (light trapping and DNA metabarcoding techniques), we investigated the relationship between insect availability and social vocalizations in foraging bats. Results The big-footed myotis uttered low-frequency social calls composed of 7 syllable types during foraging interactions. Although the dietary composition of bats varied across different sampling periods, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera were the most common prey consumed. The number of social vocalizations was primarily predicted by insect abundance, insect species composition, and echolocation vocalizations from conspecifics. The number of conspecific echolocation pulses tended to decrease following the emission of most social calls. Feeding bats consistently decreased foraging attempts and food consumption during playbacks of social calls with distinctive structures compared to control trials. The duration of flight decreased 1.29–1.96 fold in the presence of social calls versus controls. Conclusions These results support the food defence hypothesis, suggesting that foraging bats employ social calls to engage in intraspecific food competition. This study provides correlative evidence for the role of insect abundance and diversity in influencing the emission of social calls in insectivorous bats. Our findings add to the current knowledge of the function of social calls in echolocating bats.

Activity Patterns, Habitat Use, and Prey Selection by Some African Insectivorous Bats

Biotropica ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Fenton ◽  
N. G. H. Boyle ◽  
T. M. Harrison ◽  
D. J. Oxley
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Insectivorous Bats

The ecological response of insectivorous bats to coastal lagoon degradation

2016 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 10-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley K. Clarke-Wood ◽  
Kim M. Jenkins ◽  
Brad S. Law ◽  
Rachel V. Blakey
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Lagoon ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Ecological Response

Opportunistic feeding by desert bats (Myotis spp.)

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Fenton ◽  
G. K. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Selective Feeding ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Black Light ◽  
Opportunistic Feeding

By using a 'black light' and playback of sounds made by foraging insectivorous bats, we examined opportunistic feeding behavior of bats near Camp Verde, Arizona, between 1 and 10 June 1975. Bats were significantly most active during 15-min periods when the light was on and insects were aggregated over it. Bats feeding over the light selectively pursued and captured larger insects, apparently ignoring the smaller ones. Bats did not respond to sounds simulating feeding buzzes of bats, but showed a slight response to the foraging sounds of other bats. Opportunistic feeding by insectivorous bats allows effective exploitation of patchily distributed food resources and can lead to selective feeding when 'hatches' of insects are involved. Opportunistic feeding is not incompatible with selective feeding, and may eventually be established as a strategy common to most insectivorous bats.

Activity patterns and habitat preferences of insectivorous bats in a West African forest–savanna mosaic

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph F. J. Meyer ◽  
Christian J. Schwarz ◽  
Jakob Fahr
Keyword(s):  
Open Space ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Light Trap ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Constant Frequency ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Bat Activity

We studied activity patterns and habitat use by insectivorous bats in Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast. Bat foraging activity was quantified along five transects representing three different habitat types using acoustic monitoring and captures with mist nets and harp traps. Aerial insect abundance was assessed using a light trap; in addition shrub and tree arthropods were sampled. Bat activity was significantly and positively related to insect availability and ambient temperature, whereas increased visibility of the moon had a negative influence on flight activity. Together, these factors best explained both total bat activity and activity of bats hunting in open space and edge habitats. The interaction between temperature and light intensity was the best predictor of activity by species foraging in obstacle-rich forest habitats, however, the regression model had a low predictive value. Overall, a large proportion (c. 50%) of the variation in bat activity appeared to be a consequence of transect- and/or habitat-specific influences. We found a significant non-linear relationship between the activity of QCF (quasi-constant frequency) and FM–QCF (frequency modulated – quasi-constant frequency) bats and the phase of the moon, with lowest levels of activity occurring near full moon. We interpret this lunar-phobic behaviour as a reflection of a higher predation risk during moonlit periods. For FM (steep frequency modulated) and CF (constant frequency) bats, no significant correlation was found, although there was a trend suggesting that these bats at least were not negatively affected by bright moonlight. Foraging activity of bats was positively correlated with the abundance of atympanate moths; however, no such correlation was found for tympanate moths.

scholarly journals Seasonal patterns of habitat use by insectivorous bats in a subtropical African agro-ecosystem dominated by macadamia orchards

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 552-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter John Taylor ◽  
Ara Monadjem ◽  
Jacobus Nicolaas Steyn
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Insectivorous Bats

scholarly journals The carbon isotope biogeochemistry of the individual hydrocarbons in bat guano and the ecology of the insectivorous bats in the region of Carlsbad, New Mexico

1980 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2075-2086 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Des Marais ◽  
J.M. Mitchell ◽  
W.G. Meinschein ◽  
J.M. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Hydrocarbons ◽  
Bat Guano
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