The foraging behaviour and ecology of animal-eating bats

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Brock Fenton
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Echolocation Call ◽  
Individual Behaviour ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Individual Variations ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Prey Items

The results of recent studies of the foraging behaviour of animal-eating bats are considered in this review. The advent of small (< 1 g) radio transmitters has made it possible to collect data on individual variations in foraging behaviour for species with body mass over 15 g. These data can be combined with those from wing morphology and echolocation call design to assess the flexibility achieved by some bats. The information concerning bats can be placed in a broader perspective by considering it in the light of current ideas about foraging theory. In this review, information about bat foraging is considered in the context of structural and functional features, the former relating to bats' access to habitats of different complexity and the latter to their behavioural responses. Mechanical features involving wing morphology and perceptual features, such as the ability of echolocating bats to deal with clutter, combine to influence the behavioural flexibility of individuals. This, in turn, affects access to prey and patterns of community structure. Bats relying on airborne prey appear to be limited to small prey items, whereas those hunting nonairborne targets may take much larger prey. Variation in individual behaviour means that terms such as gleaning, perch hunting, piscivory, and carnivory do not accurately define the foraging of animal-eating bats. Morphological and behavioural data suggest that sympatric animal-eating bats of similar size will show considerable overlap in prey taken and in patterns of habitat use.

A comparison of the roosting and foraging behaviour of three species of African insectivorous bats (Rhinolophidae, Vespertilionidae, and Molossidae)

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 2860-2867 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Brock Fenton ◽  
I. L. Rautenbach
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Radio Tracking ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Echolocation Call ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Deciduous Woodland

We used radio tracking to study the roosting and foraging behaviour of Rhinolophus hildebrandti, Scotophilus borbonicus (=S. viridis and S. leucogaster), and Tadarida midas in the Pafuri Region of Kruger National Park, South Africa in November 1985. Although the species roosted in different locations (S. borbonicus in hollow mopane trees, R. hildebrandti in a hollow baobab tree, and T. midas in buildings), roost temperatures and the bats' body temperatures were generally similar. The S. borbonicus and T. midas flew continuously while foraging in pursuit of flying prey; the R. hildebrandti switched between continuous flight, and hunting from a perch also in pursuit of flying prey. All three species foraged for about 60 min nightly, but the T. midas ventured at least 10 km from their roosts, while for S. borbonicus and R. hildebrandti, comparable figures were 4 and 2 km, respectively. The three species showed a spectrum of wing morphology and echolocation call design features from clutter resistant (R. hildebrandti) to relatively clutter resistant (S. borbonicus) and clutter intolerant (T. midas) and the foraging areas used by the bats corresponded to these features. Rhinolophus hildebrandti foraged below the canopy in riverine forest and deciduous woodland, while S. borbonicus foraged around the canopy but not closer than 0.5 m to it, while T. midas foraged in the open well above the canopy. These differences are discussed along with variations in foraging behaviour in insectivorous bats.

The influence of wing morphology and echolocation on the gleaning ability of the insectivorous bat Myotis tricolor

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 1854-1863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Stoffberg ◽  
David S Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Narrow Bandwidth ◽  
Mole Crickets ◽  
Wing Tips ◽  
Wing Tip

On the basis of its external morphology, Myotis tricolor (Temminck, 1832) should be able to both aerial-feed and glean. Furthermore, this bat is known to use broadband calls of short duration, reinforcing the prediction that it gleans. However, results from this study indicate that M. tricolor does not commonly glean. This conclusion was reached after studying the foraging behaviour of M. tricolor in a flight room. We presented M. tricolor with mealworms, moths, mole crickets, beetles, and cicadas in a variety of ways that required either gleaning and (or) aerial feeding. Although M. tricolor readily took tethered prey, it did not take any of the variety of insects presented to it in a manner that required gleaning. We therefore compared its wing morphology and echolocation calls with those of several known gleaners, Nycteris thebaica E. Geoffroy, 1818, Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte, 1831), and Myotis septentrionalis (Trouessart, 1897), and an aerial forager, Neoromicia capensis (A. Smith, 1829). In a discriminant analysis wing-tip shape was the only variable to provide some degree of discrimination between species, with M. tricolor having more pointed wing tips than the known gleaners. Discriminant analysis of echolocation-call parameters grouped M. tricolor with the other Myotis species and separated it from N. capensis and N. thebaica. However, M. tricolor did not use harmonics as did the other Myotis species. The apparent failure of M. tricolor to glean might therefore be due to its relatively pointed wings and narrow-bandwidth echolocation calls, owing to the absence of harmonics in its calls.

scholarly journals A comparison of morphology and web geometry between hypogean and epigean species of Metellina orb spiders (family Tetragnathidae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hesselberg ◽  
Daniel Simonsen
Keyword(s):  
Life Style ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Permanent Record ◽  
Behavioural Adaptation ◽  
Web Geometry ◽  
Web Building

Studies on the behaviour of subterranean animals are rare, mainly due to the problems with collecting data in these inaccessible habitats. Web-building cave spiders, however, leave a semi-permanent record of their foraging behaviour, which can relatively easily be recorded. In this study, we compare size, leg lengths and web characteristics between hypogean populations of Metellina merianae with its close wood-inhabiting relative M. mengei. We confirm previous observations that M. merianae does not show any obvious morphological and behavioural adaptions to a subterranean life-style, although individuals of the cave species were significantly larger and had webs with relatively fewer radii and capture spiral turns than M. mengei. We were, however, not able to determine if these findings indicate a transition towards behavioural adaptation to caves or if they are a result of behavioural flexibility in response to the different humidity and temperature between caves and woodland. Finally, we did not find any effect of cave characteristics on either the number of radii or the area of the M. merianae web.

Comparative foraging behaviour and efficiency of adult and juvenile great blue herons

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1168-1173 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Quinney ◽  
P. C. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Handling Time ◽  
Flock Size ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Small Prey ◽  
Prey Items

Foraging behaviour and efficiency of adult and newly fledged juvenile great blue herons, Ardea herodius L., were studied at the Gaspereau River estuary. Nova Scotia, in July and August 1977 and 1978. Pace and strike rates of adults and juveniles were similar, whereas capture and probe rates differed markedly. Adults captured prey more successfully than juveniles but the ability of the latter improved with age. Foraging success of adults was greater in flocks of more than five individuals. In contrast, juvenile success does not seem related to flock size. Ninety-eight percent of the identified prey were flounder Liopsetta putnmi Gill. Handling time of small prey items was the same for adults and juveniles but juveniles took much longer to swallow medium-sized prey than adults did.

scholarly journals The evolution of avian wing shape and previously unrecognized trends in covert feathering

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1816) ◽  
pp. 20151935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Wang ◽  
Julia A. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Wing Shape ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Linear Measurements ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Wing Tip ◽  
Plastic Character

Avian wing shape has been related to flight performance, migration, foraging behaviour and display. Historically, linear measurements of the feathered aerofoil and skeletal proportions have been used to describe this shape. While the distribution of covert feathers, layered over the anterior wing, has long been assumed to contribute to aerofoil properties, to our knowledge no previous studies of trends in avian wing shape assessed their variation. Here, these trends are explored using a geometric–morphometric approach with landmarks describing the wing outline as well as the extent of dorsal and ventral covert feathers for 105 avian species. We find that most of the observed variation is explained by phylogeny and ecology but shows only a weak relationship with previously described flight style categories, wing loading and an investigated set of aerodynamic variables. Most of the recovered variation is in greater primary covert feather extent, followed by secondary feather length and the shape of the wing tip. Although often considered a plastic character strongly linked to flight style, the estimated ancestral wing morphology is found to be generally conservative among basal parts of most major avian lineages. The radiation of birds is characterized by successive diversification into largely distinct areas of morphospace. However, aquatic taxa show convergence in feathering despite differences in flight style, and songbirds move into a region of morphospace also occupied by basal taxa but at markedly different body sizes. These results have implications for the proposed inference of flight style in extinct taxa.

Deriving Population parameters from Individual Variations in Foraging Behaviour. II. Model Tests and Population Parameters

10.2307/5762 ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 277 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Goss-Custard ◽  
R. W. G. Caldow ◽  
R. T. Clarke ◽  
A. D. West
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Population Parameters ◽  
Individual Variations

scholarly journals Torpor reduces predation risk by compensating for the energetic cost of antipredator foraging behaviours

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1893) ◽  
pp. 20182370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Turbill ◽  
Lisa Stojanovski
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Energy Intake ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Energetic Cost ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Perceived Predation Risk ◽  
Starvation Risk

Foraging activity is needed for energy intake but increases the risk of predation, and antipredator behavioural responses, such as reduced activity, generally reduce energy intake. Hence, the mortality and indirect effects of predation risk are dependent on the energy requirements of prey. Torpor, a controlled reduction in resting metabolism and body temperature, is a common energy-saving mechanism of small mammals that enhances their resistance to starvation. Here we test the hypothesis that torpor could also reduce predation risk by compensating for the energetic cost of antipredator behaviours. We measured the foraging behaviour and body temperature of house mice in response to manipulation of perceived predation risk by adjusting levels of ground cover and starvation risk by 24 h food withdrawal every third day. We found that a voluntary reduction in daily food intake in response to lower cover (high predation risk) was matched by the extent of a daily reduction in body temperature. Our study provides the first experimental evidence of a close link between energy-saving torpor responses to starvation risk and behavioural responses to perceived predation risk. By reducing the risk of starvation, torpor can facilitate stronger antipredator behaviours. These results highlight the interplay between the capacity for reducing metabolic energy expenditure, optimal decisions about foraging behaviour and the life-history ecology of prey.

The depth of edge influence among insectivorous bats at forest–field interfaces

2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 287-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.K. Jantzen ◽  
M.B. Fenton
Keyword(s):  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Echolocation Call ◽  
Lasiurus Cinereus ◽  
Species Activity ◽  
Crucial Information ◽  
Depth Of Edge Influence ◽  
Quantitative Changes ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Edge Influence

Species-specific variations in wing morphology and echolocation call characteristics often define which of three structural habitat types (open, cluttered, and edge) different bat species most frequently and efficiently use for foraging. Although edges are recognized as important habitats for commuting and foraging bats, no study to date has examined the depth of edge influence (DEI), the extent of quantitative changes in activity with distance from an edge, for any bat species. We focused our study on five species: northern long-eared bat, Myotis septentrionalis (Trouessart, 1897); hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus (Beauvois, 1796); little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus (LeConte, 1831); silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans (LeConte, 1831); big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus (Beauvois, 1796). We predicted DEI would vary with species-specific differences in wing morphology and echolocation call characteristics. From June to August in 2010 and 2011, we passively recorded echolocation calls three to four times per month at eight sites in eastern Ontario, Canada. We found that species’ activity was highest at the edge, regardless of wing morphology and echolocation call characteristics. The DEI for all species was approximately 40 m into both forests and fields. Understanding the effects of DEI on bats will enable more effective acoustic monitoring in future studies and may provide crucial information for management decisions.

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