Resource availability, population dynamics and diet of the nectar-feeding bat Leptonycteris curasoae in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

Nectar-feeding bats play important roles in the pollination of columnar cacti. Migratory bats such as Leptonycteris curasoae are vulnerable to extinction due to their migratory behavior and cave-roosting habit. The conservation of migratory bats requires the identification and protection of key roosting sites and their floral resources. In this paper we describe the availability of resources, the population dynamics and the diet of L. curasoae in the Guaymas region, and its diet at three additional sites in coastal Sonora, Mexico. Our results indicate that L. curasoae is a seasonal resident in the Guaymas area, with local occupation of around 4 months. Seasonal occupation seems to be determined by the availability of flowers and fruits of columnar cacti as peak abundance and peak availability coincide in time. The analyses of fecal and fur samples revealed that columnar cacti constitute the major food source during their seasonal occupation of coastal Sonora. The frequency of pollen from Agave and Bombacaceae in fecal samples was generally low but increased in importance in lower latitudes. Our results suggest that the availability of resources provided by columnar cacti determine seasonal occupation of L. curasoae in Sonora. Given that we detected newborns in the studied colony, we suggest active cave protection for the conservation of the maternity roosting site in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Species distribution modelling supports “nectar corridor” hypothesis for migratory nectarivorous bats and conservation of tropical dry forest

“…We created SDMs of food plants to approximate food plant distribution. To generate these models, we determined plants that might be used as food by C. mexicana , L. nivalis and L. yerbabuenae based on information from the literature (Arias‐Cóyotl, Stoner, & Casas, ; Bustamante & Búrquez, ; Cajas‐Castillo et al, ; Casas, Valiente‐Banuet, Rojas‐Martínez, & Dávila, ; Cruz & Pavon, ; Eguiarte & Burquez, ; England, ; Fleming, Sahley, Holland, Nason, & Hamrick, ; Gentry, ; Lemke, ; Lobo et al, ; Molina‐Freaner & Eguiarte, ; Moreno‐Valdez, Honeycutt, & Grant, ; Munguía‐Rosas & Sosa, ; Peñalba, Molina‐Freaner, & Rodríguez, ; Rojas‐Martínez et al, ; Sánchez & Medellín, ; Stoner et al, ; Valiente‐Banuet et al, ; Valiente‐Banuet, Rojas‐Martínez, Casas, Coro Arizmendi, & Dávila, ; Valiente‐Banuet, Rojas‐Martínez, Coro Arizmendi, & Dávila, ; Valiente‐Banuet, Santos Gally, Arizmendi, & Casas, ). These included plants of Agavoideae (CAM pathway, 20 spp.…”

First record of the Lesser Long-nosed Bat, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae Martinez & Villa-R., 1940 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae), in Nicaragua

“…Leptonycteris yerbabuenae is known to move long distances every night to forage from their communal roosts which are commonly in caves (Medellín et al 2018). We assume that the individual here may find suitable roosting sites in the rocky outcrops common in the area, but we also know that this species is capable of long single-night flights and seasonal migrations after the blooming of the agaves, columnar cacti, and other food sources (Rojas-Martinez et al 1999;Tellez et al 2000;Peñalba et al 2006;Medellín et al 2018).…”

Multifaceted DNA metabarcoding of guano to uncover multiple classes of ecological data in two different bat communities

“…The diet of L. yerbabuenae is largely comprised of nectar, pollen, and fruit (Cole & Wilson, 2006 ; Edwards et al, 2019 ; Peñalba et al, 2006 ). During the sampling period of our study, L. yerbabuenae diet would be expected to consist almost entirely of Agave spp.…”