Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Diet of the Eastern Red Bat in Kentucky

Hayes, Courtney R.; Gumbert, Mark W.; Whitaker, John O.; Elliott, Charles L.; Dodd, Luke E.

doi:10.3101/1098-7096-79.1.12

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…With DNA-based analysis of trophic interactions, it is well known that differences in how well prey can be detected from fecal samples will bias results toward the prey that is detectable the longest (Greenstone et al, 2014). However, despite that a multitude of studies that have been using DNA-based methods to assess the dynamics between bats and their prey (e.g., Aizpurua et al, 2018;Gordon et al, 2019;Hayes et al, 2019;Mata et al, 2016;Weier et al, 2019), the severity of such biases has not been investigated. To bridge this knowledge gap, we here show how the post-feeding prey DNA detection interval depends on a range of interacting factors such as the species of prey, the mass of prey that was consumed, and the species of bat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The strength of such molecular methods is that they increase the likelihood that so far overlooked or rare taxa are detected (e.g., Clare, 2014;Razgour et al, 2011;Vesterinen et al, 2013) by enabling the identification of prey that are strongly digested or the identification of soft-bodied prey and insect larvae (Clare et al, 2009;Razgour et al, 2011). Furthermore, targeting the DNA of prey increases the likelihood of attaining a highly resolved taxonomic description of a bat's diet (Clare et al, 2011;Gordon et al, 2019;Sousa et al, 2019;Vesterinen et al, 2018), given the availability of reference sequences, whereas morphological methods usually only allow prey identity to be resolved the family or order level (Ashrafi et al, 2011;Hayes et al, 2019;Krüger et al, 2012;Pereira et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detection of prey DNA in bat feces: Effects of time since feeding, meal size, and prey identity

et al. 2021

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of prey DNA in bat feces: Effects of time since feeding, meal size, and prey identity

et al. 2021

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“…They forage in various forest habitats (Elmore et al., 2005), often focusing their foraging behavior along linear features within the forest matrix, such as ridgetops and roads (Amelon et al., 2014; Beilke et al., 2023). They consume a wide variety of insects, though moths and beetles may be favored prey items (Clare et al., 2009; Hayes et al., 2019; Whitaker, 2004). The species engages in partial seasonal migration, wherein some individuals travel north in the spring and south in the fall (Cryan, 2003; True et al., 2023; Wieringa et al., 2021).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They consume a wide variety of insects, though moths and beetles may be favored prey items (Clare et al, 2009;Hayes et al, 2019;Whitaker, 2004). The species engages in partial seasonal migration, wherein some individuals travel north in the spring and south in the fall (Cryan, 2003;True et al, 2023;Wieringa et al, 2021).…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual dichromatism in the fur of a bat: An exploration of color differences and potential signaling functions

Beilke,

Sanchez,

Hews

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Sex differences in body color (i.e., sexual dichromatism) are rare in bats and, more broadly, in mammals. The eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is a common tree‐roosting bat that occupies much of North America and has long been described as sexually dichromatic. However, previous research on this species found that absolute body size and collection year were better predictors of fur color in preserved specimens than sex. We revisited this issue and photographed 82 live eastern red bats under standardized conditions, then used image analysis to quantify pelage hue, saturation, and value. We used an information theoretic approach to evaluate four competing hypotheses about the principal drivers of color differences in the fur of eastern red bats. Our analyses demonstrated that sex was a better predictor of pelage color than body size; males had redder, more saturated, and lighter pelages than females. Additionally, the fur color of juvenile versus adult bats differed somewhat, as juveniles were darker than adults. In general, absolute body size (i.e., forearm length in bats) was a poor predictor of color in live eastern red bats. In an exploratory post‐hoc analysis, we confirm that fur color is related to body mass (i.e., a proxy for body condition in bats), suggesting color might serve as a sexually selected signal of mate quality in this partially diurnal species. Future work should investigate the functional role of sexual dichromatism in this species, which could be related to signaling or possibly thermoregulation.

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Molecular diet analysis using fecal DNA metabarcoding reveals the whole and the core diet of the critically endangered Kolar leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros hypophyllus and its congeners

Srinivas,

Chelmala

2024

Preprint

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We conducted diet analysis of four species of leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros hypophyllus, H. durgadasi, H. fulvus, and H. speoris) cohabiting a roost in the Kolar district, Karnataka, India using metabarcoding fecal DNA technique. We collected fecal pellets of these bats returning to the roost after the first feeding bout over different seasons. The whole diet of all these species consisted of 7,309 OTUs belonging to phylum Arthropoda. Although no significant difference among the whole diets of the four species was found, H. hypophyllus consumed the most amount of insect taxa (4,114 species) compared to others. The core diets consisted of 49 taxa belonging to 10 orders, 37 families, 46 genera. A significant difference was found among the core diets, with H. hypophyllus and H. speoris feeding on more varied insects. There was no overlap in diets and the bat species were observed to be diet specialists. Prey items belonging to orders Lepidoptera and Diptera were abundant in the diet of all four species of bats. The core diet of H. hypophyllus varied significantly between the seasons, with greater than 70% intake of lepidopteran insects in the monsoon and winter seasons. Our study reveals that these bats feed on insect pests too thus playing a role as biocontrollers.

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Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Diet of the Eastern Red Bat in Kentucky

Cited by 4 publications

References 28 publications

Detection of prey DNA in bat feces: Effects of time since feeding, meal size, and prey identity

Detection of prey DNA in bat feces: Effects of time since feeding, meal size, and prey identity

Sexual dichromatism in the fur of a bat: An exploration of color differences and potential signaling functions

Molecular diet analysis using fecal DNA metabarcoding reveals the whole and the core diet of the critically endangered Kolar leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros hypophyllus and its congeners

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