Reproductive seasonality of the Egyptian fruit bat (<i>Rousettus aegyptiacus</i>) at the northern limits of its distribution

Lučan, Radek; Bartonička, Tomáš; Benda, Petr; Bi̇lgi̇n, Raşi̇t; Jedlička, Petr; Nicolaou, Haris; Reiter, Antonín; Shohdi, Wael; Šálek, Martin; Řeřucha, Šimon; Uhrin, Marcel; Abi-Said, Mounir; Horáček, Ivan

doi:10.1644/14-mamm-a-035

Cited by 29 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We expected home range size to increase when food became scarce; however, we observed the opposite trend. The small MCP and CA sizes observed during times of poor food availability may have been caused by i) few suitable foraging sites being situated relatively close to each other, and ii) the high costs of foraging over longer distances under harsh conditions at a time when females are lactating and have high energy demands [38]. The relationships observed in our study were inconsistent with the wellestablished negative relationship between home range size and local food availability previously noted for a wide variety of other species [73][74][75].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fruit bats were mist netted at foraging sites, whereupon they were weighed and sexed, and a 3.0 mm circular piece of tissue was taken from the wing membrane of for genetic analysis, using a sterile biopsy punch (Miltex, Inc., USA). Age estimation was based on the forearm growth curve published by Mutere [53], dentition, testes size and position in males and the state of nipples in females [38,40]. The fruit bats (67 females and 50 males) were equipped with a 5.4 g (4.1 ± 0.6% of bats body mass, cf.…”

Section: Sampling and Radiotrackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Proportion of pregnant females occurs in two peaks, in late spring and in autumn. Reproductive activity of males is the highest during autumn and winter months (more details in [38]). The diet of these fruit bats consists mainly of fruit, such as figs (Ficus carica, F. microcarpa, F. religiosa, F. rubiginosa), dates (Phoenix dactylifera), loquats (Eriobotrya japonica) and mulberries (Morus nigra) [39,40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As with much of Egypt, the Dakhla oasis has a hot-desert climate [52], with a mean winter (January) and spring (April) temperature of 19˚C, a mean summer (August) temperature of 23˚C and mean rainfall of 2 mm in winter, 1 mm in spring and 0 mm in summer. The Egyptian fruit bat population at the Dakhla oasis consists of approximately 2500 individuals in 25 colonies [38]. The colony occupying the Al Qasr old town consisted approximately of 1000 individuals which used 21 different roosts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Spatial networks differ when food supply changes: Foraging strategy of Egyptian fruit bats

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Animals are faced with a range of ecological constraints that shape their behavioural decisions. Habitat features that affect resource abundance will also have an impact, especially as regards spatial distribution, which will in turn affect associations between the animals. Here we utilised a network approach, using spatial and genetic data, to describe patterns in use of space (foraging sites) by free-ranging Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) at the Dakhla Oasis in Egypt. We observed a decrease in home range size during spring, when food availability was lowest, which was reflected by differences in space sharing networks. Our data showed that when food was abundant, space sharing networks were less connected and more related individuals shared more foraging sites. In comparison, when food was scarce the bats had few possibilities to decide where and with whom to forage. Overall, both networks had high mean degree, suggesting communal knowledge of predictable food distribution.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sampling and Radiotrackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Spatial networks differ when food supply changes: Foraging strategy of Egyptian fruit bats

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In several recent years the bat fauna of Lebanon has been rather intensively studied (see , 2009, Hulva et al 2012, Abi-Said 2014, Lučan et al 2014 but the two mentioned species (T. nudiventris and R. mehelyi) were not recorded in this country. Thus, the Lebanese NMW specimens deserve close attention -not only for their possible faunistic importance but also for the history of their origin.…”

Section: The Casementioning

confidence: 99%

Bats from Lebanon at the Natural History Museum, Vienna: a cautionary tale on the reliability of museum specimen data (Chiroptera)

Benda

Engelberger

2016

Lynx, New Series

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract Seven historical bat specimens of four species (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. mehelyi, Taphozous nudiventris, Myotis myotis), attributed to originate from the territory of the present-day Lebanon, are deposited and documented in the modern database of the mammal collection of the Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien). Two of these species (R. mehelyi, T. nudiventris) have never been reported for Lebanon in the existing literature and recent surveys have also failed to find them in this country. Since these bats were collected in the period 1824–1885, the history of the all respective specimens was evaluated in detail. The revision brought rather unexpected results. Only one specimen (R. ferrumequinum) was found to come (most probably) from Lebanon, being collected by W. Hemprich and Ch. Ehrenberg in 1824. In the remaining six specimens, the origin could not be defined, thus rendering the statement that they were collected in Lebanon insecure. This case demonstrates that careful checks of modern interpretations of historical records are necessary when examining past distributions of organisms.

show abstract

Impact of climate change on the distribution and predicted habitat suitability of two fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus and Epomophorus labiatus) in Ethiopia: Implications for conservation

Ahmed,

Bekele,

Kasso

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fruit bats serve as crucial bioindicators, seed dispersers, pollinators, and contributors to food security within ecosystems. However, their population and distribution were threatened by climate change and anthropogenic pressures. Understanding the impacts of these pressures through mapping distribution and habitat suitability is crucial for identifying high‐priority areas and implementing effective conservation and management plans. We predicted the distribution and extent of habitat suitability for Rousettus aegyptiacus and Epomophorus labiatus under climate change scenarios using average predictions from four different algorithms to produce an ensemble model. Seasonal precipitation, population index, land‐use land cover, vegetation, and the mean temperature of the driest quarter majorly contributed to the predicted habitat suitability for both species. The current predicted sizes of suitable habitats for R. aegyptiacus and E. labiatus were varied, on average 60,271.4 and 85,176.1 km2, respectively. The change in species range size for R. aegyptiacus showed gains in suitable areas of 24.4% and 22.8% in 2050 and 2070, respectively. However, for E. labiatus, suitable areas decreased by 0.95% and 2% in 2050 and 2070, respectively. The range size change of suitable areas between 2050 and 2070 for R. aegyptiacus and E. labiatus shows losses of 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively. The predicted maps indicate that the midlands and highlands of southern and eastern Ethiopia harbor highly suitable areas for both species. In contrast, the areas in the northern and central highlands are fragmented. The current model findings show that climate change and anthropogenic pressures have notable impacts on the geographic ranges of two species. Moreover, the predicted suitable habitats for both species are found both within and outside of their historical ranges, which has important implications for conservation efforts. Our ensemble predictions are vital for identifying high‐priority areas for fruit bat species conservation efforts and management to mitigate climate change and anthropogenic pressures.

show abstract

Reproductive seasonality of the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) at the northern limits of its distribution

Cited by 29 publications

References 20 publications

Spatial networks differ when food supply changes: Foraging strategy of Egyptian fruit bats

Spatial networks differ when food supply changes: Foraging strategy of Egyptian fruit bats

Bats from Lebanon at the Natural History Museum, Vienna: a cautionary tale on the reliability of museum specimen data (Chiroptera)

Impact of climate change on the distribution and predicted habitat suitability of two fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus and Epomophorus labiatus) in Ethiopia: Implications for conservation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About