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Population and seasonal variation in response to prey calls by an eavesdropping bat

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Abstract

The fringe-lipped bat, Trachops cirrhosus, is an eavesdropping predator that hunts frogs and katydids by approaching these preys' sexual advertisement calls. In captivity, bats can rapidly learn to associate novel acoustic stimuli with food rewards. It is unknown how this learning ability is related to foraging behavior in the wild where prey and the calls that identify them vary over space and time. In two bat populations that differ in available prey species (Soberanía, Panama, and La Selva, Costa Rica), we presented wild-caught bats with frog calls, katydid calls, and control stimuli. Bats in Soberanía were significantly more responsive to complex calls and choruses of the túngara frog, Physalaemus pustulosus, than were bats in La Selva. La Selva bats were significantly more responsive to katydid calls (Steirodon sp.) than Soberanía bats. We also examined seasonal variation in bat response to prey cues. Bats were captured in Soberanía in dry and wet seasons and presented with the calls of a dry season breeding frog (Smilisca sila), a wet season breeding frog (P. pustulosus), and four katydid species. Bats captured in the dry season were significantly more responsive to the calls of S. sila than bats captured in the wet season, but there were no seasonal differences in response to the calls of P. pustulosus or the katydid calls. We demonstrate plasticity in the foraging behavior of this eavesdropping predator but also show that response to prey cues is not predicted solely by prey availability.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Organization for Tropical Studies for aid and support with research and permits in Soberanía and in La Selva. Thank you to Hannah ter Hofstede for providing the katydid calls, and Ximena E. Bernal, Roberto Ibáñez, A. Stanley Rand, and Michael Reichert for recording the frog calls. Thanks also to Sara Troxell, Sean Griffin, Martha Moscoso, Christina Buelow, Sarah Richman, Jay Falk, Teia Schweizer, and Victoria Flores for help capturing and caring for bats. We thank the Gamboa Bat Lab, Christian Voigt, Brock Fenton, and one anonymous reviewer for insightful comments on the manuscript. This study was funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (PLJ) as well as grants from the University of Texas at Austin (PLJ) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (PLJ).

Ethical standards

The authors declare that the experiments conducted in this research comply with the current laws in Costa Rica, Panamá, and the USA. Research in Soberanía National Park was approved by the Panamanian authorities (Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) permit # SE/A-91-09, SE/A-95-10, SE/A-6-11, SE/A-46-11, and SE/A-94-11) and in La Selva was approved by the Costa Rican authorities (Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación permit # 027-2010-SINAC). Animal care was conducted according to the approved Institute for Animal Care and Use Committee protocols from the University of Texas (protocol AUP-2009-00138) and the Smithsonian Institution (protocol 20100816-1012-16).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Patricia L. Jones & Michael J. Ryan

  2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panamá

    Patricia L. Jones, Michael J. Ryan & Rachel A. Page

Authors
  1. Patricia L. Jones
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  2. Michael J. Ryan
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  3. Rachel A. Page
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Correspondence to Patricia L. Jones.

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Communicated by C. Voigt

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Jones, P.L., Ryan, M.J. & Page, R.A. Population and seasonal variation in response to prey calls by an eavesdropping bat. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 68, 605–615 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-013-1675-6

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