Morphological characteristics predict alternate foraging strategy and microhabitat selection in the orange-bellied bat, Lampronycteris brachyotis

33Citations
Citations of this article
228Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Neotropical bat species may coexist because they forage in different places or in different ways. The small insectivorous orange-bellied bat, Lampronycteris brachyotis (Phyllostomidae), differs from coexisting gleaners in key ecomorphological characteristics, including longer, narrower wings and smaller ears. Using telemetry, we measured range size, range use, and activity patterns, and assessed habitat preferences for 9 individuals for 50 nights over 4 months on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. The bats spent the night in individual, medium-sized (22-27 ha) foraging areas within forested regions close to shorelines, up to 4 km away from the day roost. Each bat spent most of its time in a small (3-5 ha) core area. Foraging flights ranged from a few s to more than 70 min. Total flight time per night averaged 3.5 h and flight distance was estimated to be 60 km. There were no distinct activity peaks. Our tracking data suggest that L. brachyotis primarily forages in the canopy, where it gleans insects from vegetation in a combination of perch hunting and continuous flight. This species may also catch insects in air above the canopy. This unique behavior among gleaning insectivorous phyllostomids corroborates our hypothesis that morphological adaptations combined with behavioral flexibility reflect distinct differences in foraging strategies and microhabitat selection. We conclude that differential use of space and hunting strategies promotes coexistence among the species-rich guild of Neotropical insectivorous gleaning bats.

References Powered by Scopus

Kernel methods for estimating the utilization distribution in home- range studies

3284Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Home‐range analysis using radio‐tracking data–a review of problems and techniques particularly as applied to the study of mammals

890Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Structure and organization of an Amazonian forest bird community

525Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

Activity levels of bats and katydids in relation to the lunar cycle

159Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Flying high - Assessing the use of the aerosphere by bats

73Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

The guild structure of animalivorous leaf-nosed bats of Barro Colorado Island, Panama, revisited

61Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Weinbeer, M., & Kalko, E. K. V. (2004). Morphological characteristics predict alternate foraging strategy and microhabitat selection in the orange-bellied bat, Lampronycteris brachyotis. Journal of Mammalogy, 85(6), 1116–1123. https://doi.org/10.1644/BWG-206.1

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 91

59%

Researcher 39

25%

Professor / Associate Prof. 19

12%

Lecturer / Post doc 5

3%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Agricultural and Biological Sciences 156

80%

Environmental Science 29

15%

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Bi... 6

3%

Earth and Planetary Sciences 3

2%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free