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Supply determines demand: influence of partner quality and quantity on the interactions between bats and pitcher plants

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Abstract

Interspecific relationships such as mutualism and parasitism are major drivers of biodiversity. Because such interactions often comprise more than two species, ecological studies increasingly focus on complex multispecies systems. However, the spatial heterogeneity of multi-species interactions is often poorly understood. Here, we investigate the unusual interaction of a bat (Kerivoula hardwickii hardwickii) and two pitcher plant species (Nepenthes hemsleyana and N. bicalcarata) whose pitchers serve as roost for bats. Nepenthes hemsleyana offers roosts of higher quality, indicated by a more stable microclimate compared to N. bicalcarata but occurs at lower abundance and is less common than the latter. Whereas N. hemsleyana benefits from the roosting bats by gaining nitrogen from their feces, the bats’ interaction with N. bicalcarata seems to be commensal or even parasitic. Bats stayed longer in roosts of higher quality provided by N. hemsleyana and preferred them to pitchers of N. bicalcarata in a disturbance experiment. Moreover, bats roosting only in pitchers of N. hemsleyana had a higher body condition and were less infested with parasites compared to bats roosting in pitchers of N. bicalcarata. Our study shows how the local supply of roosts with different qualities affects the behavior and status of their inhabitants and—as a consequence—how the demand of the inhabitants can influence evolutionary adaptations of the roost providing species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Liaw Lin Ji for assistance in the field and K. Fischer for helpful statistical advice. D. Dekeukeleire, J. Lambert, R. Simon and two anonymous referees kindly reviewed the manuscript. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Research Foundation (DFG: KE 746/5-1) and the University of Brunei Darussalam [RG/1(105) & RG/1(193)] funded this project. The Forestry Department of Brunei Darussalam granted permits to work in the field. This was an observational study of free-ranging animals. The experimental protocols adhered to the Animal Behaviour Society guidelines for the use of animals in research and were approved by the University Brunei Darussalam Research Committee (UBD/PNC2/2/RG 105 &193).

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  1. Zoological Institute and Museum, Greifswald University, J.-S.-Bach-Str. 11/12, 17489, Greifswald, Germany

    Caroline R. Schöner, Michael G. Schöner & Gerald Kerth

  2. Department of Biology, University Brunei Darussalam, Tungku Link, Gadong, 1410, Brunei Darussalam, Borneo

    T. Ulmar Grafe

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  1. Caroline R. Schöner
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  2. Michael G. Schöner
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  4. T. Ulmar Grafe
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Correspondence to Caroline R. Schöner.

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Communicated by Joanna Lambert.

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Schöner, C.R., Schöner, M.G., Kerth, G. et al. Supply determines demand: influence of partner quality and quantity on the interactions between bats and pitcher plants. Oecologia 173, 191–202 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2615-x

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