Ecological Correlates of Roost Fidelity in the Tent‐Making Bat Artibeus watsoni

Abstract

Roost switching is a common occurrence in bats, yet the causes and consequences of such behavior are poorly understood. In this study we explore the ecological correlates of roost fidelity in the tent‐making bat Artibeus watsoni, particularly focusing on the effect of sex, reproductive status, and roost availability using a three‐factor general linear model (GLM). We estimated roost fidelity of radio‐tracked individuals and found that the GLM was significant (R2 = 0.72, F10,34 = 8.91, p < 0.001). Significant interaction terms were observed for relative roost availability and sex (F4,34 = 16.96, p < 0.001), and relative roost availability and reproductive status (F6,34 = 7.62, p < 0.001), indicating that variation in roost fidelity among males and females, and among individuals under different breeding conditions, depended on relative roost availability at the site where they were radio‐tracked. Individuals in areas of high roost availability exhibited lower roost fidelity than those sampled in areas of lower roost availability. Females exhibited less roost fidelity than males for all roost availability categories, but the difference between males and females was only significant at high roost availability. The general pattern of decreased roost fidelity as roost availability increased was also prevalent among individuals in different breeding conditions. Additionally, satellite males exhibited higher roost fidelity than resident males in areas of low roost availability, and lactating females had higher roost fidelity than non‐breeding females in areas of medium roost availability. Our study thus demonstrates that sex, reproductive status, and roost availability all affect roost fidelity in the tent‐making bat A. watsoni, and also suggests that roost availability is the most important factor influencing roost fidelity in this bat, providing the first quantitative evidence that roost fidelity is correlated with roost abundance in a single species.

Efectos de la estructura del paisaje y de la vegetación en la diversidad de murciélagos filostómidos (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) de Oaxaca, México

“…Atribuimos estos resultados a la preferencia de estas especies por bosques continuos y a la baja movilidad y ámbitos de acción pequeños (<9ha) (Fenton et al 2001;Albrecht et al 2007;Chaverri et al 2007;Medina et al 2007). Por otro lado, los murciélagos de tamaño grande como A. lituratus y Vampyrodes major son afectados por la densidad y tamaño de los fragmentos.…”

“…(movimiento promedio por noche<1 081m), Artibeus spp. de tamaño pequeño (antes Dermanura spp., ámbito de acción< 9ha) y Platyrrhinus helleri (movimiento promedio por noche<1 000m) (Lemke 1984;Fenton et al 2001;Albrecht et al 2007;Chaverri et al 2007;Medina et al 2007). En cada círculo anidado se obtuvieron las siete medidas de la estructura del paisaje mencionados en el apartado de selección de sitios.…”

The importance of exotic plantation forest for the New Zealand long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus)

“…Long-tailed bats have been noted roosting in both dead P. radiata (Daniel 1981;G Newton, contractor Rates of roost re-use are low for long-tailed bats in agricultural landscapes and native forests (Sedgeley & O'Donnell 1999b), but appear higher in areas where fewer roosts were located during research (Alexander 2001;Dekrout 2009). The same is true of other species, including Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii [Trousdale et al 2008]) and the tent-making bat (Artibeus watsoni [Chaverri et al 2007]). In southern New Zealand Nothofagus forest, only 10.1% of the 79 roosts located by radiotracking during a 5-month summer period were re-used (O'Donnell & Sedgeley 1999).…”

Resting and nesting in a small mammal: sleeping sites as a limiting resource for female grey mouse lemurs

“…Preference for warmer or better insulated sleeping sites during lactation has previously been reported for bats, which often resume torpor and seek cooler sites after weaning their offspring (e.g. Lausen & Barclay 2003;Chaverri et al 2007a;Solick & Barclay 2007).…”

“…However, other factors, such as shelter, may shape female spatial distribution as the thermoregulatory capacities of shelters can impact on the energy available to females for reproduction. In addition, female mammals require well-insulated and protected sites for dependent young (Soderquist 1993;Radespiel et al 1998;Henner et al 2004;Chaverri et al 2007a). The importance of this resource for female mammals is illustrated in a study of bobucks, Trichosurus cunninghami (Martin & Martin 2007) where females increased their home range size by three times in habitats where den trees were rare compared to habitats were they were common, even though food abundance was comparable between the sites.…”