Mineral Licks Attract Neotropical Seed-Dispersing Bats

Research Letters in Ecology

Robert H.Michener¹  Thomas H.Kunz¹  Christian C.Voigt¹  Dina K. N.Dechmann¹  Benjamin J.Rinehart¹  JamieBender¹ 

DOI  :  10.1155/2007/34212

学科分类：环境科学（综合）

来源: Hindawi Publishing Corporation

【 摘 要 】

Unlike most terrestrial mammals, female bats must supply their offspring with all required nutrients until pups achieve virtually adult size, at which time they are able to fly and become independent. Access to nutrients may be especially challenging for reproductively active females in mineral-poor landscapes such as tropical rainforests. We hypothesized that pregnant and lactating females from tropical landscapes acquire essential nutrients from locally-available mineral licks. We captured ten times as many bats at mineral licks than at control sites in a lowland rainforest in eastern Ecuador. Among bats captured at mineral licks, the sex ratio was heavily biased toward females, and a significantly higher portion of females captured at these sites, compared to control sites, were reproductively active (pregnant and lactating). Enrichment ofN15in relation toN14in wing tissue indicated that bats captured at mineral licks were mostly fruit-eating species. Given the high visitation rates of reproductive active females at mineral licks, it is likely that mineral licks are important for fruit-eating female bats as a mineral source during late pregnancy and lactation. By sustaining high population densities of fruit-eating bats that disperse seeds, mineral licks may have an indirect influence on local plant species richness.

【 授权许可】

Unknown