Seasonal Changes in Food Consumption of Little Brown Bats Held in Captivity at A "Neutral" Temperature of 92° F

Stones, Robert C.; Wiebers, Jacob E.

doi:10.2307/1377812

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Little brown bats are difficult to maintain in captivity during the active season and, in the absence of data on their preferred roost temperatures during spring, we provided a range of roost temperatures to allow bats to choose a preferred temperature and reduce stress, and to better approximate the kind of environmental variation they might experience in the wild. Therefore, the back chamber of the roost box was equipped with a heating coil designed for reptile terraria (Exoterra Temperature Heating Cable, 12 V; Rolf C. Hagen Group, Mansfield, MA, USA) connected to a thermostat (Ranco Nema 4× Electircal Temperature Control; Invensys, Plain City, OH, USA) set to 30°C, slightly below the lower end of the thermoneutral zone for little brown bats (Stones andWiebers, 1965, Speakman andThomas, 2003; see Wilcox and Willis, 2016 for description of heated box). Thus, the box provided a range of temperatures from 18°C to 30°C.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disease recovery in bats affected by white-nose syndrome

Fuller

McGuire

Pannkuk

et al. 2020

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Processes associated with recovery of survivors are understudied components of wildlife infectious diseases. White-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats provides an opportunity to study recovery of disease survivors, understand implications of recovery for individual energetics, and assess the role of survivors in pathogen transmission. We documented temporal patterns of recovery from WNS in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) following hibernation to test the hypotheses that: (1) recovery of wing structure from WNS matches a rapid time scale (i.e. approximately 30 days) suggested by data from free-ranging bats; (2) torpor expression plays a role in recovery; (3) wing physiological function returns to normal alongside structural recovery; and (4) pathogen loads decline quickly during recovery. We collected naturally infected bats at the end of hibernation, brought them into captivity, and quantified recovery over 40 days by monitoring body mass, wing damage, thermoregulation, histopathology of wing biopsies, skin surface lipids and fungal load. Most metrics returned to normal within 30 days, although wing damage was still detectable at the end of the study. Torpor expression declined overall throughout the study, but bats expressed relatively shallow torpor boutswith a plateau in minimum skin temperatureduring intensive healing between approximately days 8 and 15. Pathogen loads were nearly undetectable after the first week of the study, but some bats were still detectably infected at day 40. Our results suggest that healing bats face a severe energetic imbalance during early recovery from direct costs of healing and reduced foraging efficiency. Management of WNS should not rely solely on actions during winter, but should also aim to support energy balance of recovering bats during spring and summer.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disease recovery in bats affected by white-nose syndrome

Fuller

McGuire

Pannkuk

et al. 2020

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…(1973) reported an average consumption of 0.93 g of meal worms per day in 6 postlactating M. lucifugus and 1.22 g/day in 3 males, all maintained in outdoor cages. Pregnant females, maintained at a thermoneutral temperature of 92°F (33°C) by Stones and Wiebers (1965), consumed an average of 3.28 g of meal worms per day, whereas lactating individuals ate 2.81 glday under the same conditions.…”

Section: Food Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding Strategies of the Little Brown Bat, Myotis Lucifugus, in Southern New Hampshire

Anthony¹,

Kunz²

1977

Ecology

339

196

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.Abstract. Feeding strategies of the little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus, were investigated in southern New Hampshire USA from early May through late August 1974. Nightly food consumption was estimated by comparing mean prefeeding body weights with postfeeding weights taken as individuals returned to the roost from their first feeding period (at 2200 to 2400 h) and from a subsequent foraging period (at 0330 to 0500 h). Pregnant bats consumed an average of 2.5 g of insects (2.72 kJ/g prefeeding body weight) nightly, lactating females ate 3.7 g (4.23 kJ/g), and juveniles ingested 1.8 g (2.47 kJ/g). Increased food consumption in lactating bats accommodated reproductive energy demands and was facilitated by rising food availability. Increasing levels of independent food consumption in juveniles accompanied weaning.Fecal analysis revealed that diets of individual bats were diverse. All available insects 3 to 10 mm in body length were accepted as food items. Nematoceran Diptera were by far the most common insects taken in light-trap samples, and constituted a major portion of the diet throughout the summer. Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Ephemeroptera, and Neuroptera were also consumed in appreciable numbers.Comparison of dietary composition with prey availability indicates that pregnant bats consumed 3-10 mm prey in approximate proportions encountered during June, when insect availability was low and unpredictable. However, lactating, postlactating, and nonreproductive Y Y exhibited more selective feeding in July, when insects were more abundant. This increase in selectivity reflected exploitation of beetles and mayflies, which were uncommon in trap samples. In August, juveniles approximated random feeding patterns, as they learned to forage. We suggest that increased resource availability allowed selective feeding in adult bats during July, as predicted by prey selection models. However, reduced discriminatory abilities may prevent similar levels of prey selection in juveniles.

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“…Many investigators showed that in female herbivores during gestation and lactation, a remarkable increase of the mucous membrane of the small intestine occurs (Boyne et al 1966;Fischer 1955;Prieto et al 1994). The small intestine with an increased active surface of villi works more efficiently, maintaining uptake of nutrients and energy at high levels (Kaczmarski 1966;Larralde and Fernandez-Otero 1968;Larralde et al 1966;Stones and Wierers 1965). As height of villi increases, level of absorption of glucose, water, and nitrogen increases (Dowling et al 1967;Elias and Dowling 1976).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%