Nonrandom Aggregations and Distribution of Cave-Dwelling Bats in Puerto Rico

Rodríguez-Durán, Armando

doi:10.2307/1382848

Cited by 50 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Kunz (1974Kunz ( , 1980 notes that occupied bat roosts are generally warmer than equivalent unoccupied roosts. These microclimate effects are particularly pronounced in certain warm-temperate caves hosting very large populations of bats such as the Brazilian Free-Tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensis (Kunz and Robson, 1995), and in tropical caves (Rodríguez-Durán, 1998). Here, we investigate the potential of bat-mediated microclimates to contribute to the formation of bell holes in tropical karst caves.…”

Section: Background To Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bats and bell holes: The microclimatic impact of bat roosting, using a case study from Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica

Lundberg

McFarlane

2009

Geomorphology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The microclimatic effect of bats roosting in bell holes (blind vertical cylindrical cavities in cave roofs) in Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica, was measured and the potential impact of their metabolism on dissolution modelled. Rock temperature measurements showed that bell holes with bats get significantly hotter than those without bats during bat roosting periods (by an average of 1.1°C). The relationship is clearest for bell holes with more than about 300 g aggregate bat body mass and for bell holes that are moderately wide and deep, of W:D ratio between 0.8 and 1.6. Measurement of temperature decay after abandonment showed that rock temperature returns to normal each day during bat foraging periods. Metabolic activity from a typical population of 400 g bat (10 individuals) yields 41 g of CO 2 , 417.6 kJ of heat, and 35.6 g of H 2 O in each 18 hour roost period, and could produce a water film of~0.44 mm, that is saturated with CO 2 at~5%. The resultant rock dissolution is estimated at~0.005 cm 3 CaCO 3 per day. The metabolic heat ensures that the focus of dissolution remains vertical regardless of geological controls. A typical bell hole 1 m deep may be formed in some 50,000 years by this mechanism alone. Addition of other erosional mechanisms, such as direct bacterial bio-erosion, or the formation of exfoliative organo-rock complexes, would accelerate the rate of formation. The hypothesis is developed that bell holes are initiated and formed by bat-mediated condensation corrosion and are governed by geographic distribution of clustering bats and their roosting behaviour.

show abstract

Section: Background To Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bats and bell holes: The microclimatic impact of bat roosting, using a case study from Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica

Lundberg

McFarlane

2009

Geomorphology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hot roosts are characterized by roost temperatures between 28 and 40°C and relative humidity exceeding 90% (47). It is thought that hot roosts are the result of the metabolic activity of bats, aided by a specific cave topology that facilitates heat entrapment (47). Typical of all bat flies, female nycterophiliines leave their bat hosts multiple times throughout their lives to deposit a single third-instar larva onto a substrate in the bat roost (i.e., cave wall).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Some Like It Hot: Evolution and Ecology of Novel Endosymbionts in Bat Flies of Cave-Roosting Bats (Hippoboscoidea, Nycterophiliinae)

Morse

Dick

Patterson

et al. 2012

Appl Environ Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We investigated previously unknown associations between bacterial endosymbionts and bat flies of the subfamily Nycterophiliinae (Diptera, Streblidae). Molecular analyses revealed a novel clade of Gammaproteobacteria in Nycterophilia bat flies. This clade was not closely related to Arsenophonus-like microbes found in its sister genus Phalconomus and other bat flies. High population infection rates in Nycterophilia across a wide geographic area, the presence of the symbionts in pupae, the general codivergence between hosts and symbionts, and high AT composition bias in symbiont genes together suggest that this host-symbiont association is obligate in nature and ancient in origin. Some Nycterophilia samples (14.8%) also contained Wolbachia supergroup F (Alphaproteobacteria), suggesting a facultative symbiosis. Likelihood-based ancestral character mapping revealed that, initially, obligate symbionts exhibited association with host-specific Nycterophilia bat flies that use a broad temperature range of cave environments for pupal development. As this mutualism evolved, the temperature range of bat flies narrowed to an exclusive use of hot caves, which was followed by a secondary broadening of the bat flies' host associations. These results suggest that the symbiosis has influenced the environmental tolerance of parasite life history stages. Furthermore, the contingent change to an expanded host range of Nycterophilia bat flies upon narrowing the ecological niche of their developmental stages suggests that altered environmental tolerance across life history stages may be a crucial factor in shaping parasite-host relationships.

show abstract

“…Estas comunidades cavernícolas ofrecen buenas oportunidades de estudio y algunos autores han abordado los patrones de asociación interespecífica (Graham 1988, Arita & Vargas 1995, Rodríguez-Durán 1998; las pautas en la selección de refugios (Vargas 1998, Ávila-Flores & Medellín 2004 y la ecología poblacional y reproductiva de sus especies (Trajano 1985, Martino et al 1997.…”

unclassified

Dinámica poblacional, selección de sitios de percha y patrones reproductivos de algunos murciélagos cavernícolas en el oeste de México

Torres-Flores

López‐Wilchis

Soto-Castruita

2012

RBT

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Population dynamics, roost selection and reproductive patterns of some cave bats from Western of Mexico. Almost half of bat species that occur in Mexico use caves as permanent or temporal roosts. However, the ecological studies about cave bat communities are scarce. In this work we studied the population dynamics, roost selection and reproductive patterns of some bats present in El Salitre Cave, Colima, Mexico. We carried out monthly samplings between August 2003-March 2005 using a harp trap for bats capture, we took their biological data and marked some of them with plastic rings. We also explored the cave to locate bat colonies and register microclimatic conditions in each cave section. We captured a total of 16 409 bats of which 31% were Mormoops megalophylla, 24.5% Pteronotus personatus, 23% P. davyi, 8.2% P. parnellii, 5.8% Natalus mexicanus and 5.3% Glossophaga soricina. Macrotus waterhousii, G. morenoi, Desmodus rotundus, Balantiopteryx plicata, and Glyphonycteris sylvestris represented only 2.2% of the captures. Some bat species used the cave as a permanent day roost while others as a seasonal one, and their population size varied markedly along the year and between rainy and dry seasons. Most bat population peaks were linked with their reproductive periods. The Pteronotus species and N. mexicanus exhibited sexual segregation during the breeding season. The mormoopids and N. mexicanus occupied deeper parts of the cave with temperatures >25.8°C and relative humidity >99%. The phyllostomids occupied intermediate sections where the ambient was less hot and humid, with temperatures of 23.2-28.3°C and humidity of 74-89.9%. Some individuals of B. plicata and G. sylvestris were seen occasionally occupying one chamber near the entrance two, where temperature and humidity were of 23.2°C and 84.2%, respectively. The mormoopids and N. mexicanus showed a pattern of seasonal monoestry, synchronized with rainy season. Glossophaga soricina had a pattern of bimodal seasonal poliestry, with one reproductive peak to early of dry season and another to last of this season. Macrotus waterhousii did not exhibit a seasonal pattern, with parturitions occurring throughout the year. Our results indicate a seasonal replacement between several species as well as seasonal movements to other caves. The data indicate that the carrying capacity of the cave is mainly determined by the availability of roosting sites. The selection of roosting sites is linked to the close relationship between microclimatic conditions and the species physiological characteristics. The reproduction of mormoopids and N. mexicanus was mostly influenced by rainfall which determinates food availability. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (3): 1369-1389. Epub 2012 September 01.

show abstract

Nonrandom Aggregations and Distribution of Cave-Dwelling Bats in Puerto Rico

Cited by 50 publications

References 15 publications

Bats and bell holes: The microclimatic impact of bat roosting, using a case study from Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica

Bats and bell holes: The microclimatic impact of bat roosting, using a case study from Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica

Some Like It Hot: Evolution and Ecology of Novel Endosymbionts in Bat Flies of Cave-Roosting Bats (Hippoboscoidea, Nycterophiliinae)

Dinámica poblacional, selección de sitios de percha y patrones reproductivos de algunos murciélagos cavernícolas en el oeste de México

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About