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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Hierarchical fruit selection by Neotropical leaf-nosed bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

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Author(s):
Andrade, Tiago Y. [1] ; Thies, Wibke [2] ; Rogeri, Patricia K. [3] ; Kalko, Elisabeth K. V. [4] ; Mello, Marco A. R. [5]
Total Authors: 5
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Fed Sao Carlos. Dept Bot
[2] Univ Ulm. Inst Expt Okol
[3] Univ Fed Sao Carlos. Dept Bot
[4] Univ Ulm. Inst Expt Okol
[5] Univ Ulm. Inst Expt Okol
Total Affiliations: 5
Document type: Journal article
Source: JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY; v. 94, n. 5, p. 1094-1101, OCT 2013.
Web of Science Citations: 26
Abstract

It is crucial to understand how Neotropical leaf-nosed bats select fruits, because their choices strongly affect the seed dispersal process, especially of pioneer plants. We tested the hypothesis of hierarchical fruit selection by phyllostomid bats at the levels of the bat genus and species by combining a literature database with field experiments. Considering our database for the whole Neotropics, Artibeus bats focus on Ficus (Moraceae) and Cecropia (Cecropiaceae), Carollia bats on Piper (Piperaceae), and Sturnira bats on Solanum (Solanaceae). Results from a field experiment in Brazil corroborated those preferences, because bats of those 3 genera selected 1st the fruits of their preferred plant genera, even when secondary fruits were offered in higher abundance. In another field experiment in Panama, we observed that 2 sympatric Carollia species, although focusing on the same plant genus, prefer different Piper species. Literature records for the whole range of the 2 Carollia species show that they have strongly nested diets. Our findings corroborate the hypothesis that frugivorous phyllostomids do not forage opportunistically, and, moreover, segregate their diets hierarchically at the genus and species levels. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 07/03405-0 - Do fruit bats perform directed dispersal?
Grantee:Patrícia Kerches Rogeri
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
FAPESP's process: 07/03415-6 - Bat's fruit selection: preference or opportunism?
Grantee:Tiago Yamazaki Andrade
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation