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Monthly fluctuation of colony size and composition of the free-tailed bat Tadarida brasiliensis in the southernmost roost of Mexico

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Abstract

The free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) likely migrates from the southwestern USA and northern Mexico to the south of Mexico to spend the winter in the Cueva San Francisco (CSF), which is the southernmost known roost of the species. In this study, we examined colony size and composition of the free-tailed bats at the CSF for two annual cycles to know if these parameters fluctuate throughout the year and whether these fluctuations indicate that the CSF is a winter roost. From February 2018 to November 2019, we conducted monthly observations and captured bats with a mist net of 12 × 2.6 m to determine sex, age, reproductive status, and relative abundance. The duration of the emergence flight (DEF) was also recorded. We detected significant fluctuations in colony size that were caused by the movement of pregnant females in spring, lactating and post-lactating females and males in summer, and by females and males in autumn and winter. The CSF was occupied all year-round by females and males. Our results indicate that the cave is a winter roost for females and males, a transitional roost for pregnant females that form their maternity colony elsewhere in summer, and a temporary roost for males in summer. We suggest that the CSF is crucial for the conservation of the free-tailed bat.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the residents of the Ejido Pámala, municipality of La Trinitaria, Chiapas state, Mexico, for its support to our work at the Cueva San Francisco. We thank Víctor Hugo Mendoza Saénz, José Gerardo Domínguez Vera, José Alfonso López Gómez, for his assistance in the fieldwork. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) supported the first author with a PhD scholarship 307955. We thank three anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and comments, which greatly helped to improve this manuscript.

Funding

The Rufford Foundation (project number 25161-1) and Idea Wild funded this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad. Unidad San Cristóbal de las Casas, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Carretera Panamericana s/n. Barrio de María Auxiliadora, 29290, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México

    Viridiana Llaven-Macías, Lorena Ruíz-Montoya & Eduardo J. Naranjo

  2. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR). Unidad Durango, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Sigma 119. Fracc. 20 de Noviembre II, 34220, Durango, Mexico

    Celia López-González

  3. Red de Diversidad Biológica del Occidente Mexicano. Centro Regional del Bajío, Instituto de Ecología, A. C. , 61600, Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico

    Yessica Rico

  4. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), 03940, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Yessica Rico

Authors
  1. Viridiana Llaven-Macías
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  2. Lorena Ruíz-Montoya
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  3. Celia López-González
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Correspondence to Viridiana Llaven-Macías.

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Llaven-Macías, V., Ruíz-Montoya, L., López-González, C. et al. Monthly fluctuation of colony size and composition of the free-tailed bat Tadarida brasiliensis in the southernmost roost of Mexico. Mamm Res 66, 339–348 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-021-00559-6

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