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The Influence of Sex and Reproductive Status on Foraging Behavior and Seed Dispersal by Uroderma convexum (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

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Sociality in Bats

Abstract

Uroderma convexum construct and occupy tents. Tents serve as day shelters and reproductive sites, but also frequently are used as night feeding roosts. We observed and radio-tagged U. convexum occupying tents at Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. Social groups of U. convexum were composed of one adult male, reproductive females, and immature bats apparently forming a polygynous harem organization. We report spatial information (core-use, foraging range, habitat coverage use) and seed dispersal behavior for seven radio-tagged bats. Bats spend much of their foraging time in the riparian habitats; however, they also forage in mature and secondary forest and several anthropogenic habitats, dispersing at least eleven species of plants of different life forms. Bats establish night feeding roosts up to 1800 m from their day roost. Feeding roosts are in foliage close to plants producing ripe fruits and both feeding roosts and resource plants vary in space over time. Most of the time, adult males restrict movements to fruiting plants within 100 m of their tents and frequently return within the foraging period of the night, thus males disperse a large proportion of the seeds they handle exclusively within perturbed areas associated with the tents. In contrast to males, adult females usually do not return to a tent until near dawn and move over greater distances, frequently dispersing seeds into multiple habitats. Social organization, sex, and reproductive status appear to influence the outcomes of foraging behavior and seed dispersal of the bats.

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Acknowledgments

We thank J. D. Ramírez Fernández, A. Cerdas Cedeño, A. Herdina, R. Blakey, C. Pinzari, and E. Rojas Valerio for their valuable assistance with fieldwork. We also are grateful with Juan Manuel Ley for their help on the identification of plants and seeds. Our research was made possible by generous logistical and financial assistance from the Tirimbina Biological Reserve. Additionally, we appreciate permission to conduct our research on the land of Sarapiquí Rainforest Lodge and Sarapiquí Eco-Observatory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica

    David Villalobos-Chaves & Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera

  2. Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 44, Kilauea Field Station, Hawaii National Park, HI, 96718, USA

    Frank J. Bonaccorso

  3. Universidade Federal Do Río Grande Do Norte, Natal, Brazil

    Eugenia Cordero-Schmidt

  4. Bird and Mammal Evolution, Systematics and Ecology Lab, Zoology Department, Institute of Biosciences, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Adriana Arias-Aguilar

  5. Hawaii Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, USA

    Christopher M. Todd

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  1. David Villalobos-Chaves
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  5. Adriana Arias-Aguilar
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Correspondence to David Villalobos-Chaves .

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  1. Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México City, Mexico

    Jorge Ortega

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Villalobos-Chaves, D., Bonaccorso, F.J., Rodríguez-Herrera, B., Cordero-Schmidt, E., Arias-Aguilar, A., Todd, C.M. (2016). The Influence of Sex and Reproductive Status on Foraging Behavior and Seed Dispersal by Uroderma convexum (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). In: Ortega, J. (eds) Sociality in Bats. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38953-0_14

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