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Vertical stratification of Neotropical leaf-nosed bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) revealed by stable carbon isotopes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2011

Katja Rex ,
Robert Michener ,
Thomas H. Kunz  and
Christian C. Voigt
Katja Rex*
Affiliation:
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
Robert Michener
Affiliation:
Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
Thomas H. Kunz
Affiliation:
Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
Christian C. Voigt
Affiliation:
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
*
1Corresponding author. Email: katjarex@web.de
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Abstract:

Tropical rain forests harbour the most diverse plant and animal assemblages known to science, but our understanding of assemblage structure and species interactions is limited. Bats, as the only flying mammals, have the potential to exploit resources from all strata in forest communities. Thus, fruit-eating phyllostomid bats often have been categorized into canopy-, subcanopy- and understorey-foraging species, based largely upon the height at which they were most frequently captured. Here we challenge this classification and use stable carbon isotopes to assess foraging height of bat species at an Amazonian rain-forest site in Ecuador and at a Caribbean lowland rain-forest site in Costa Rica for comparison with data from mist-net captures. The proportion of the heavy stable carbon isotope 13C in relation to the lighter 12C isotope increases in plants from ground level to the canopy (0.12‰ m−1–0.18‰ m−1), and these differences in stable carbon isotope signatures are reflected in the body tissue of phytophagous bats. We used the stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) of wing tissue to estimate the foraging heights of 54 phyllostomid species in two Neotropical bat assemblages. Based on stable isotope data, phyllostomid species exploit food resources at all vertical strata of the forest. Capture height was not a reliable predictor of foraging height and suggests that bats most likely use lower strata to commute between foraging sites to avoid predators. Vertical stratification is likely to be a key factor promoting niche partitioning, thus promoting high local species richness in many tropical animal assemblages.

Keywords

canopyforaging behaviourresource partitioningstable carbon isotopesunderstorey
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , May 2011 , pp. 211 - 222
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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