Vampyrum spectrum (Phyllostomidae) movement and prey revealed by radio-telemetry and DNA metabarcoding

Abstract

The spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum), the largest bat species in the Americas, is considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and is listed as a species of special concern or endangered in several countries throughout its range. Although the species is known as carnivorous, data on basic ecology, including habitat selection and primary diet items, are limited owing to its relative rarity and difficulty in capturing the species. Leveraging advances in DNA metabarcoding and using radio-telemetry, we present novel information on the diet and movement of V. spectrum based on locations of a radio-collared individual and fecal samples collected from its communal roost (three individuals) in the Lowland Dry Forest of southern Nicaragua. Using a non-invasive approach, we explored the diet of the species with genetic markers designed to capture a range of arthropods and vertebrate targets from fecal samples. We identified 27 species of vertebrate prey which included birds, rodents, and other bat species. Our evidence suggested that V. spectrum can forage on a variety of species, from those associated with mature forests to forest edge-dwellers. Characteristics of the roost and our telemetry data underscore the importance of large trees for roosting in mature forest patches for the species. These data can inform conservation efforts for preserving both the habitat and the prey items in remnants of mature forest required by Vampyrum spectrum to survive in landscape mosaics.

Endangered Nectar-Feeding Bat Detected by Environmental DNA on Flowers

“…For example, L. nivalis belongs to the species-rich Phyllostomidae family, which exhibits diverse diets of fruits, nectar, insects, vertebrates, and combinations thereof [ 71 , 72 , 73 ]. Metabarcoding has already been useful in characterizing omnivorous diets in this family with separately amplified markers [ 74 , 75 ] and the multiplex used in our study could potentially be useful in making such an acquisition of dietary data more scalable.…”

New departmental and noteworthy records of mammals (Mammalia, Theria) from Nicaragua

“…The great false vampire bat is an elusive species and the largest bat in the Americas (Reid 2009). It was previously known from only five individuals at four localities in Nicaragua (Allen 1910;Medina-Fitoria et al 2010;Medina-Fitoria 2014;Martínez-Fonseca et al 2022). Both of our Rio San Juan localities are the eastern and southernmost localities for the species in Nicaragua.…”

Dietary niche partitioning of three Sky Island Sceloporus lizards as revealed through DNA metabarcoding

“…Morphological studies of stomach contents can also be biased by the different rates of digestion between prey items based on size, hardness, and composition (Carretero, 2004). DNA metabarcoding for diet analysis using fecal matter is a technique that enables the identification of prey items without invasive methods, such as stomach flushing, bleeding, or specimen collection (Martínez-Fonseca et al, 2022;Walker et al, 2016Walker et al, , 2019. For sensitive species or species of conservation concern, it remains the most promising avenue for understanding dietary diversity.…”