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Dietary resource overlap among three species of frugivorous bat in Costa Rica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2019

Lauren D. Maynard Open the ORCID record for Lauren D. Maynard [Opens in a new window] ,
Ariana Ananda ,
Maria Fernanda Sides ,
Hannah Burk  and
Susan R. Whitehead Open the ORCID record for Susan R. Whitehead [Opens in a new window]
Lauren D. Maynard*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Ariana Ananda
Affiliation:
John Muir College, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92092, USA
Maria Fernanda Sides
Affiliation:
Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica
Hannah Burk
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Susan R. Whitehead
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
*
*Email: ldmaynar@vt.edu
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Abstract

The maintenance of biodiversity in tropical forests is thought to be dependent on fine-scale mechanisms of niche partitioning that allow species to coexist. This study examined whether three species of short-tailed fruit bat that co-occur at a lowland tropical forest site in Costa Rica (Carollia castanea, C. perspicillata, C. sowelli) avoid inter- and intraspecific competition through dietary specialization on species in the genus Piper. First, dietary composition was examined using faecal samples (N = 210), which yielded three main findings: (1) bat species and sexes vary in overall reliance on fruits of Piper, with a higher percentage of seeds of Piper detected in the diets of C. castanea (98.2%) and females (91.5%); (2) adults and juveniles partition species of Piper by habitat, with a lower percentage of mid- to late-successional species of Piper detected in adults (20.8%); and (3) overall, there is a strong dietary overlap among and within the three species of Carollia. Second, controlled choice experiments were conducted with individual bats (N = 123) to examine preferences for different species of Piper. These results indicated few differences in Piper preference based on bat species, sex, age class or reproductive status, suggesting preference is not the primary mechanism shaping the observed differences in dietary composition. Overall, the dietary composition and preference similarities suggest there is strong competition both among and within the three species of Carollia for food resources.

Keywords

CarolliaLa Selva Biological StationNeotropical batsniche partitioningPiperpreference
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , July 2019 , pp. 165 - 172
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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