Group size, survival and surprisingly short lifespan in socially foraging bats

BMC Ecology

Research Article

Olivier Gimenez¹  Yann Gager²  Dina K. N. Dechmann³  M. Teague O’Mara⁴ 

[1] CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France;Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany;Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany;International Max Planck Research School for Organismal Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany;Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany;Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany;Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama;Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany;Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany;Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany;Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama;

关键词: Cox proportional hazard model;    Fitness;    Molossus molossus;    Multistate mark-recapture model;    Social foraging;    Sociality;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12898-016-0056-1

 received in 2015-06-24, accepted in 2016-01-04,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe relationships between group size, survival, and longevity vary greatly among social species. Depending on demographic and ecological circumstances, there are both positive and negative effects of group size variation on individual survival and longevity. For socially foraging species in particular there may be an optimal group size that predicts maximum individual survival that is directly related to the potential for information transfer, social coordination, and costs of conspecific interference. Our aim was to investigate this central aspect of evolutionary ecology by focusing on a socially foraging bat, Molossus molossus. This species optimizes foraging success by eavesdropping on the echolocation calls of group members to locate ephemeral food patches. We expected to find the highest survival and longest lifespans in small groups as a consequence of a trade-off between benefits of information transfer on ephemeral resources and costs of conspecific interference.ResultsIn a mark-recapture study of 14 mixed-sex M. molossus social groups in Gamboa, Panama, spanning several years we found the expected relatively small and intermediate, but stable groups, with a mean size of 9.6 ± 6.7 adults and juveniles. We estimated survival proxies using Cox proportional hazard models and multistate-mark recapture models generated with recapture data as well as automated monitoring of roost entrances in a subset of the groups. Median survival of females was very short with 1.8 years and a maximum estimated longevity of 5.6 years. Contrary to our expectations, we found no relationship between variation in group size and survival, a result similar to few other studies.ConclusionsStrong selection towards small group size may result from psychoacoustic and cognitive constraints related to acoustic interference in social foraging and the complexity of coordinated flight. The short lifespans were unexpected and may result from life at the energetic edge due to a highly specialized diet. The absence of a relationship between group size and survival may reflect a similar but optimized survival within the selected range of group sizes. We expect the pattern of small group sizes will be consistent in future research on species dependent on social information transfer about ephemeral resources.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Gager et al. 2016