Comparative ecology of three pteropid bats in Rio Muni, West Africa

Jones, Clyde

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb03118.x

Cited by 39 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Are these different strategies specific and limited to each individual or can all individuals adopt them depending on the loading condition? A 20% increase in body mass is unlikely to be near the maximal loading capacity of fruit bats, considering that they have been observed carrying fruit of up to 40% their body mass [10]. Thus, if we were to increase loading conditions, we can expect at least two different scenarios: i) each bat keeps compensating by using the same observed strategies, either modifying the shape or the wing motion, or ii) they start incorporating alternative strategies (i.e., changing the shape and motion of the wings).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinematic Plasticity during Flight in Fruit Bats: Individual Variability in Response to Loading

et al. 2012

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All bats experience daily and seasonal fluctuation in body mass. An increase in mass requires changes in flight kinematics to produce the extra lift necessary to compensate for increased weight. How bats modify their kinematics to increase lift, however, is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of a 20% increase in mass on flight kinematics for Cynopterus brachyotis, the lesser dog-faced fruit bat. We reconstructed the 3D wing kinematics and how they changed with the additional mass. Bats showed a marked change in wing kinematics in response to loading, but changes varied among individuals. Each bat adjusted a different combination of kinematic parameters to increase lift, indicating that aerodynamic force generation can be modulated in multiple ways. Two main kinematic strategies were distinguished: bats either changed the motion of the wings by primarily increasing wingbeat frequency, or changed the configuration of the wings by increasing wing area and camber. The complex, individual-dependent response to increased loading in our bats points to an underappreciated aspect of locomotor control, in which the inherent complexity of the biomechanical system allows for kinematic plasticity. The kinematic plasticity and functional redundancy observed in bat flight can have evolutionary consequences, such as an increase potential for morphological and kinematic diversification due to weakened locomotor trade-offs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinematic Plasticity during Flight in Fruit Bats: Individual Variability in Response to Loading

et al. 2012

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“…The bat species Eidolon helvum is grouped under the suborder Megachiroptera , and it is the most widely distributed Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat which is found in the forest and savannah zones of sub-Saharan Africa [6,7]. The prime habitats for E. helvum are the tropical forest and typically roost in colonies on tall trees like Eucalyptus saligna and Cocos nucifera [8]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from faecal samples of the Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum) in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria

et al. 2012

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BackgroundBats (Chiroptera) are one of the most diverse groups of mammals which carry out important ecological and agricultural functions that are beneficial to humans. However, they are increasingly recognized as natural vectors for a number of zoonotic pathogens and favourable hosts for zoonotic infections. Large populations of the Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum) colonize the main campus of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, but the public health implications of faecal contamination and pollution by these flying mammals is unknown. This study characterized S. aureus obtained from faecal samples of these migratory mammals with a view to determining the clonal types of the isolates, and to investigate the possibility of these flying animals as potential reservoir for zoonotic S. aureus infections.ResultsOne hundred and seven (107) S. aureus isolates were recovered from 560 faecal samples in eleven roosting sites from January 2008 to February 2010. A large proportion of the isolates were susceptible to antibiotics, and molecular characterization of 70 isolates showed that 65 (92.9%) were assigned in coagulase type VI, while accessory gene typing classified 69 isolates into the following: type I (12; 17.1%), type II (3; 4.3%), type III (1; 1.4%) and type IV (53; 75.7%). On the whole, the isolates were grouped in five (A-E) main genotypes. Of the ten representative isolates selected for multilocus sequence typing (MLST), nine isolates were assigned with new sequence types: ST1725, ST1726, ST1727, ST2463-ST2467 and ST2470. Phylogenetic analysis provided evidence that S. aureus isolates in group C were closely related with ST1822 and associated clones identified in African monkeys, and group D isolates with ST75, ST883 and ST1223. The two groups exhibited remarkable genetic diversity compared to the major S. aureus clade.ConclusionsAntibiotic resistance in faecal S. aureus isolates of E. helvum is low and multiple unique S. aureus lineages co-existed with E. helvum. The Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat in Ile-Ife, Nigeria is colonized predominantly by ST1725, ST1726, ST2463 and ST2470 with distinct genotypic characteristics that are rarely found in humans. This study has demonstrated on the possible existence of a reservoir of indigenous and anciently-divergent S. aureus clones among mammals in Africa.

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“…It is not clear how close our experimental conditions came to this maximum possible load, and future tests would be needed to determine this limit. Our maximum load (21%) is well within the range of additional loads encountered by bats on a nightly basis (Jones, 1972), but bats might reach their limit for slow climbing flight well before they lose the ability to fly at all, as in forward flight the oncoming air flow assists in the generation of the required lift forces. In support of this, we note that the forward flight velocity did increase with loading (Fig.2E), and this might suggest that as the load increases, the bat is attempting to generate a greater contribution to lift from forward flight.…”

Section: Changes In Performance With Increased Loadingmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…In a single night, insectivorous bats have been known to increase their body mass by 20-30% (Kunz, 1974), and frugivorous species have been observed in flight carrying food items weighing more than 40% of their body weight (Jones, 1972). On longer time scales, many temperate bats hibernate, and prehibernation fat storage can add an additional 20-30% to total mass (Beer and Richards, 1956).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climbing flight performance and load carrying in lesser dog-faced fruit bats (Cynopterus brachyotis)

MacAyeal

Riskin

Swartz

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYThe metabolic cost of flight increases with mass, so animals that fly tend to exhibit morphological traits that reduce body weight. However, all flying animals must sometimes fly while carrying loads. Load carrying is especially relevant for bats, which experience nightly and seasonal fluctuations in body mass of 40% or more. In this study, we examined how the climbing flight performance of fruit bats (Cynopterus brachyotis; N4) was affected by added loads. The body weights of animals were experimentally increased by 0, 7, 14 or 21% by means of intra-peritoneal injections of saline solution, and flights were recorded as animals flew upwards in a small enclosure. Using a model based on actuator disk theory, we estimated the mechanical power expended by the bats as they flew and separated that cost into different components, including the estimated costs of hovering, climbing and increasing kinetic energy. We found that even our most heavily loaded bats were capable of upward flight, but as the magnitude of the load increased, flight performance diminished. Although the cost of flight increased with loading, bats did not vary total induced power across loading treatment. This resulted in a diminished vertical velocity and thus shallower climbing angle with increased loads. Among trials there was considerable variation in power production, and those with greater power production tended to exhibit higher wingbeat frequencies and lower wing stroke amplitudes than trials with lower power production. Changes in stroke plane angle, downstroke wingtip velocity and wing extension did not correlate significantly with changes in power output. We thus observed the manner in which bats modulated power output through changes in kinematics and conclude that the bats in our study did not respond to increases in loading with increased power output because their typical kinematics already resulted in sufficient aerodynamic power to accommodate even a 21% increase in body weight.

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Comparative ecology of three pteropid bats in Rio Muni, West Africa

Cited by 39 publications

References 20 publications

Kinematic Plasticity during Flight in Fruit Bats: Individual Variability in Response to Loading

Kinematic Plasticity during Flight in Fruit Bats: Individual Variability in Response to Loading

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from faecal samples of the Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum) in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria

Climbing flight performance and load carrying in lesser dog-faced fruit bats (Cynopterus brachyotis)

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