Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.008
Kantima Thongjued, W. Chotigeat, S. Bumrungsri, Phuvadol Thanakiatkrai, Thitika Kitpipit
Insectivorous bats may significantly contribute to human well-being by suppressing pest insects and possibly preventing the emergence of diseases. To understand the roles these bats play in their ecosystems, a diet analysis of their guano can be carried out. However, each diet analysis method has its drawbacks, e.g., some soft-bodied insects might be missed in microscopic analysis of guano. We aimed to examine the diet of the wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bats (Chaerephon plicatus) using direct PCR and DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) technique. Sequencing was done for 240 guano samples collected from two caves in Thailand over the course of a year. Direct PCR and DGGE was successfully applied for bat guano analysis. Seventy-six Operational Taxonomic Units were identified, in which 25 were determined to the species level. Diptera was the most abundant insect order found in bats' diet, with a percentage frequency of occurrence (%FOO) of 32.8%, followed by Hemiptera (27.2%), Lepidoptera (24.1%) and Coleoptera (10.3%). Hemipterans were preferred during active rice-growing months, while dipterans were consumed year-round. Eight known crop pests were found, and the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) was the most dominant throughout the year. Mosquitoes also substantially contributed to the bat's diet. The bats probably encounter these insects during insect dispersal at high elevations. The prey species recorded strongly indicated that this bat plays a role in facilitating rice and crop productions, which increases food security. In addition, this bat may play a role in suppressing potential disease-carrying insects such as various species of mosquitoes. We urge local and international authorities to increase conservation efforts and that similar studies should be done with other bat species.
{"title":"Direct PCR-DGGE Technique Reveals Wrinkle-Lipped Free-Tailed Bat (Chaerephon plicatus Buchanan, 1800) Predominantly Consume Planthoppers and Mosquitoes in Central Thailand","authors":"Kantima Thongjued, W. Chotigeat, S. Bumrungsri, Phuvadol Thanakiatkrai, Thitika Kitpipit","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.008","url":null,"abstract":"Insectivorous bats may significantly contribute to human well-being by suppressing pest insects and possibly preventing the emergence of diseases. To understand the roles these bats play in their ecosystems, a diet analysis of their guano can be carried out. However, each diet analysis method has its drawbacks, e.g., some soft-bodied insects might be missed in microscopic analysis of guano. We aimed to examine the diet of the wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bats (Chaerephon plicatus) using direct PCR and DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) technique. Sequencing was done for 240 guano samples collected from two caves in Thailand over the course of a year. Direct PCR and DGGE was successfully applied for bat guano analysis. Seventy-six Operational Taxonomic Units were identified, in which 25 were determined to the species level. Diptera was the most abundant insect order found in bats' diet, with a percentage frequency of occurrence (%FOO) of 32.8%, followed by Hemiptera (27.2%), Lepidoptera (24.1%) and Coleoptera (10.3%). Hemipterans were preferred during active rice-growing months, while dipterans were consumed year-round. Eight known crop pests were found, and the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) was the most dominant throughout the year. Mosquitoes also substantially contributed to the bat's diet. The bats probably encounter these insects during insect dispersal at high elevations. The prey species recorded strongly indicated that this bat plays a role in facilitating rice and crop productions, which increases food security. In addition, this bat may play a role in suppressing potential disease-carrying insects such as various species of mosquitoes. We urge local and international authorities to increase conservation efforts and that similar studies should be done with other bat species.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"93 - 106"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42384122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.017
Scott K. Brown, S. Kaburu, L. Besenyei
Bats spend half of their lives in their roosts, which play vital roles in the life histories of the bats that occupy them. More than half of all bat species roost in foliage. Within the Neotropics, 17 species of bat are known to modify foliage into structures referred to as ‘tents'. Of these species, Thomas's fruit eating bat (Dermanura watsoni) uses the widest range of plant species for roosts, constructing five different tent types. However, the factors influencing the distribution and quantity of tents are not fully understood for this species. The aims of our study were to investigate whether (1) micro-habitat characteristics influence the number of tents on individual plants and (2) macro-habitat features influence the frequency of plants used for tent-roosting in the surrounding landscape. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of tents was influenced by proximity to freshwater, with 48.8% of tents within 100 m of freshwater resources. Additionally, D. watsoni constructed tents in sheltered habitats with a high cover abundance of trees. These types of habitat areas should be targeted for conservation efforts to conserve this species.
{"title":"The Influences of Micro- and Macro-Habitat Variables on Tent-Roosting in Dermanura watsoni on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica","authors":"Scott K. Brown, S. Kaburu, L. Besenyei","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.017","url":null,"abstract":"Bats spend half of their lives in their roosts, which play vital roles in the life histories of the bats that occupy them. More than half of all bat species roost in foliage. Within the Neotropics, 17 species of bat are known to modify foliage into structures referred to as ‘tents'. Of these species, Thomas's fruit eating bat (Dermanura watsoni) uses the widest range of plant species for roosts, constructing five different tent types. However, the factors influencing the distribution and quantity of tents are not fully understood for this species. The aims of our study were to investigate whether (1) micro-habitat characteristics influence the number of tents on individual plants and (2) macro-habitat features influence the frequency of plants used for tent-roosting in the surrounding landscape. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of tents was influenced by proximity to freshwater, with 48.8% of tents within 100 m of freshwater resources. Additionally, D. watsoni constructed tents in sheltered habitats with a high cover abundance of trees. These types of habitat areas should be targeted for conservation efforts to conserve this species.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"207 - 213"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47556538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.009
Juan J. Pellón, Jorge L. Mendoza, Oscar Quispe-Hure, Florangel Condo, Marta Williams
While the presence of some phytophagous bats species in Neotropical cities is generally known, detailed information on their feeding habits in urban ecosystems is still limited. In some highly developed urban spaces, native plant species are scarce, therefore phytophagous bats living in those conditions could be relying only on resources offered by introduced vegetation. This study describes the diet of Glossophaga soricina in the campus of Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in the city of Lima, Peru. To achieve this, from September 2016 to May 2017, bats were captured using mist nets to collect samples of feces and pollen from their body surface. The phytophagous diet of G. soricina comprised resources offered by at least 25 species of cultivated plants, nearly all of them introduced to Lima. Glossophaga soricina mainly fed on the nectar/pollen of Agave angustifolia, Eucalyptus spp., Crescentia cujete and Musa spp., and fruits of Piper aduncum and Morus nigra. Insects were also registered in its diet. It consumed many non-chiropterophilous flowers and most of its principal resources are not abundant in the study area. Results suggest that G. soricina is a generalist nectarivore that has adapted its dietary habits to consume nectar/pollen of a wide variety of flowers and complements its diet with fruits and insects. It is concluded that introduced cultivated vegetation permits the persistence of G. soricina in the city; hence unsuitable green areas management could negatively affect its local populations. More studies on ecology of urban phytophagous bats in Lima and other Neotropical cities are required to conserve their populations in those altered ecosystems.
{"title":"Exotic Cultivated Plants in the Diet of the Nectar-Feeding Bat Glossophaga soricina (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) in the City of Lima, Peru","authors":"Juan J. Pellón, Jorge L. Mendoza, Oscar Quispe-Hure, Florangel Condo, Marta Williams","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.009","url":null,"abstract":"While the presence of some phytophagous bats species in Neotropical cities is generally known, detailed information on their feeding habits in urban ecosystems is still limited. In some highly developed urban spaces, native plant species are scarce, therefore phytophagous bats living in those conditions could be relying only on resources offered by introduced vegetation. This study describes the diet of Glossophaga soricina in the campus of Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in the city of Lima, Peru. To achieve this, from September 2016 to May 2017, bats were captured using mist nets to collect samples of feces and pollen from their body surface. The phytophagous diet of G. soricina comprised resources offered by at least 25 species of cultivated plants, nearly all of them introduced to Lima. Glossophaga soricina mainly fed on the nectar/pollen of Agave angustifolia, Eucalyptus spp., Crescentia cujete and Musa spp., and fruits of Piper aduncum and Morus nigra. Insects were also registered in its diet. It consumed many non-chiropterophilous flowers and most of its principal resources are not abundant in the study area. Results suggest that G. soricina is a generalist nectarivore that has adapted its dietary habits to consume nectar/pollen of a wide variety of flowers and complements its diet with fruits and insects. It is concluded that introduced cultivated vegetation permits the persistence of G. soricina in the city; hence unsuitable green areas management could negatively affect its local populations. More studies on ecology of urban phytophagous bats in Lima and other Neotropical cities are required to conserve their populations in those altered ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"107 - 117"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42040795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.004
S. M. Ospina-Garcés, J. Arroyo‐Cabrales, R. Medellín
Myotis planiceps is an insectivorous species with a distinctive flat-headed morphology among Myotis species. Its distribution is restricted to the northeastern Mexico highlands, and uses trees of Yucca carnerosana to roost. The particular ecological and morphological characteristics of this species make it a likely resource-use specialist. We evaluated the morphological specialization of M. planiceps as compared with thirteen American congeners belonging to different dietary categories, using a geometric morphometric protocol and multivariate statistical analyses. We estimated morphological differences across dietary categories, including M. planiceps as a separate group, and evaluated the effect of cranial size and diet on variations in cranial morphology. We found a significant differentiation of this species in all the cranial shape characters, with soft insectivores as the dietary group closest to M. planiceps. Additionally, diet explained similar percentages of shape variance in cranial and mandibular characters, and the highest interaction between diet and cranial size was recorded in the braincase. In general, the smallest sizes and thinner skulls were observed in soft insectivores. Our findings do not support a significant relationship between skull shape characters, described by the first principal component, and hardness of food items, but we found a significant association with the mandible shape. No phylogenetic structure was observed in the residual variance of these models. We found trends of change in cranial morphology associated with specialized habitats, the mandibular characters being more contrasting in the fishing bat M. vivesi, and the braincase morphology being more contrasting in M. planiceps, a species that lives in restricted habitats and probably feeds on soft insects.
{"title":"Cranial Morphology of the Flat-Headed Bat Myotis planiceps (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in the Context of American Myotis","authors":"S. M. Ospina-Garcés, J. Arroyo‐Cabrales, R. Medellín","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.004","url":null,"abstract":"Myotis planiceps is an insectivorous species with a distinctive flat-headed morphology among Myotis species. Its distribution is restricted to the northeastern Mexico highlands, and uses trees of Yucca carnerosana to roost. The particular ecological and morphological characteristics of this species make it a likely resource-use specialist. We evaluated the morphological specialization of M. planiceps as compared with thirteen American congeners belonging to different dietary categories, using a geometric morphometric protocol and multivariate statistical analyses. We estimated morphological differences across dietary categories, including M. planiceps as a separate group, and evaluated the effect of cranial size and diet on variations in cranial morphology. We found a significant differentiation of this species in all the cranial shape characters, with soft insectivores as the dietary group closest to M. planiceps. Additionally, diet explained similar percentages of shape variance in cranial and mandibular characters, and the highest interaction between diet and cranial size was recorded in the braincase. In general, the smallest sizes and thinner skulls were observed in soft insectivores. Our findings do not support a significant relationship between skull shape characters, described by the first principal component, and hardness of food items, but we found a significant association with the mandible shape. No phylogenetic structure was observed in the residual variance of these models. We found trends of change in cranial morphology associated with specialized habitats, the mandibular characters being more contrasting in the fishing bat M. vivesi, and the braincase morphology being more contrasting in M. planiceps, a species that lives in restricted habitats and probably feeds on soft insects.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"45 - 58"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45041380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.010
R. Owen, J. Camp
Several types of information have been used to infer migration in bats, including seasonal presence or absence, marking and reencountering individual bats, and genetically identifiable populations being encountered in different locations in different seasons. Each of these types of evidence has been used to reveal the migratory movements of bats in North America and the Old World, but little is known about bat migration in the Neotropics. 58 species of bats belonging to six families are currently known to occur in Paraguay, including insectivores, frugivores, pollinivores, piscivores, carnivores and sanguivores. Given the seasonality of some of these food resources, the question arises of whether some species are migratory. To date there is no direct evidence of bat migration in Paraguay. We develop a novel method of investigating possible bat migration in Paraguay, generalizable to other countries or regions. Using a database of almost 14,000 bat records in Paraguay that include specific identification, month and department (primary administrative division) of capture, we apply statistical methods to search for seasonal patterns of occurrence in 18 species. Although we are able to assign locality records to ecoregions only by reference to the department of capture, the analytic method proved useful in detecting patterns of seasonal variation. Results strongly suggest migration of bats both within Paraguay and outside of the country, by ten species representing four families and three trophic guilds. Migratory status is not related to ecoregional preference, trophic guild, distributional status or body size. Migration has previously been reported elsewhere for six of the ten species (Nyctinomops laticaudatus, Lasiurus ega, Glossophaga soricina, Artibeus lituratus, Pygoderma bilabiatum and Sturnira lilium). This is the first report of migration in Eumops patagonicus, Molossops temminckii, Myotis albescens and Noctilio albiventris. As for any migratory species, conservation measures must include both spatial and temporal considerations to be effective, and we conclude with a brief review of the uneven and inadequate distribution of Important Bat Areas (AICOMs) in Paraguay.
{"title":"Bats of Paraguay: Specimen Data Reveal Ecoregional Preferences and Diverse Seasonal Patterns","authors":"R. Owen, J. Camp","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.010","url":null,"abstract":"Several types of information have been used to infer migration in bats, including seasonal presence or absence, marking and reencountering individual bats, and genetically identifiable populations being encountered in different locations in different seasons. Each of these types of evidence has been used to reveal the migratory movements of bats in North America and the Old World, but little is known about bat migration in the Neotropics. 58 species of bats belonging to six families are currently known to occur in Paraguay, including insectivores, frugivores, pollinivores, piscivores, carnivores and sanguivores. Given the seasonality of some of these food resources, the question arises of whether some species are migratory. To date there is no direct evidence of bat migration in Paraguay. We develop a novel method of investigating possible bat migration in Paraguay, generalizable to other countries or regions. Using a database of almost 14,000 bat records in Paraguay that include specific identification, month and department (primary administrative division) of capture, we apply statistical methods to search for seasonal patterns of occurrence in 18 species. Although we are able to assign locality records to ecoregions only by reference to the department of capture, the analytic method proved useful in detecting patterns of seasonal variation. Results strongly suggest migration of bats both within Paraguay and outside of the country, by ten species representing four families and three trophic guilds. Migratory status is not related to ecoregional preference, trophic guild, distributional status or body size. Migration has previously been reported elsewhere for six of the ten species (Nyctinomops laticaudatus, Lasiurus ega, Glossophaga soricina, Artibeus lituratus, Pygoderma bilabiatum and Sturnira lilium). This is the first report of migration in Eumops patagonicus, Molossops temminckii, Myotis albescens and Noctilio albiventris. As for any migratory species, conservation measures must include both spatial and temporal considerations to be effective, and we conclude with a brief review of the uneven and inadequate distribution of Important Bat Areas (AICOMs) in Paraguay.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"119 - 137"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48773358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.012
Daniel Hending, Helen Drew, M. Holderied
Bioacoustics can be a non-invasive, cost-effective way of studying echolocating bats, and is especially useful for detecting and identifying rare or cryptic species. The insectivorous bats of Madagascar are understudied in comparison to the rest of the island's fauna, and very little is known about their habitat use. Here, we used a remote bioacoustic surveying technique in a bat survey of the Sahamalaza-Îles Radama National Park, northwest Madagascar, to study constant frequency echolocating bats (Hipposideridae and Rhinonycteridae). We used two passive acoustic monitoring units to automatically record bat activity from dusk until dawn in a range of habitat types that are characteristic of the region. Analysis of call acoustic parameters revealed three distinct constant-frequency phonic types within the national park, which we identified as Commerson's leaf-nosed bat (Macronycteris commersoni), the red trident bat (Triaenops menamena) and an unknown phonic type of ca. 78 kHz. We found significant differences in the habitat usage of these three species, suggesting species-specific habitat preferences among Madagascar's bats. Our statistical analyses revealed significant differences between the acoustic echolocation calls of these three phonic types. The 78 kHz calls do not match any of the other constant frequency-calling bat species currently described for Madagascar, indicating either acoustic divergence among bat sub-populations or the possible existence of a new undescribed species. These results highlight the need for increased survey efforts to gain an understanding of species-specific geographic distributions and habitat usage among Malagasy bats and to disentangle their cryptic species complexes.
{"title":"Habitat Use of Constant Frequency Echolocating Bats in North-West Madagascar with Acoustic Evidence for a Possible New Species","authors":"Daniel Hending, Helen Drew, M. Holderied","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.012","url":null,"abstract":"Bioacoustics can be a non-invasive, cost-effective way of studying echolocating bats, and is especially useful for detecting and identifying rare or cryptic species. The insectivorous bats of Madagascar are understudied in comparison to the rest of the island's fauna, and very little is known about their habitat use. Here, we used a remote bioacoustic surveying technique in a bat survey of the Sahamalaza-Îles Radama National Park, northwest Madagascar, to study constant frequency echolocating bats (Hipposideridae and Rhinonycteridae). We used two passive acoustic monitoring units to automatically record bat activity from dusk until dawn in a range of habitat types that are characteristic of the region. Analysis of call acoustic parameters revealed three distinct constant-frequency phonic types within the national park, which we identified as Commerson's leaf-nosed bat (Macronycteris commersoni), the red trident bat (Triaenops menamena) and an unknown phonic type of ca. 78 kHz. We found significant differences in the habitat usage of these three species, suggesting species-specific habitat preferences among Madagascar's bats. Our statistical analyses revealed significant differences between the acoustic echolocation calls of these three phonic types. The 78 kHz calls do not match any of the other constant frequency-calling bat species currently described for Madagascar, indicating either acoustic divergence among bat sub-populations or the possible existence of a new undescribed species. These results highlight the need for increased survey efforts to gain an understanding of species-specific geographic distributions and habitat usage among Malagasy bats and to disentangle their cryptic species complexes.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"153 - 164"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46765636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.001
M. Volleth, F. Khan, S. Müller, R. Baker, Daniela Arenas-Viveros, R. Stevens, V. Trifonov, T. Liehr, K. Heller, C. Sotero-Caio
Classical and molecular cytogenetic methods were applied to study the karyotypes of one species of Hipposideridae and three taxa of the Rhinolophidae subgenus Aquias from Malaysian Borneo. Except for four chromosomal pairs with autapomorphic arm combinations, the karyotype of Coelops robinsoni was found to be similar to the closely related Aselliscus stoliczkanus. From the three Rhinolophus taxa studied, only R. trifoliatus was found to share the karyotype with conspecifics from Peninsular Malaysia. In contrast, the karyotype of R. luctus foetidus from Sarawak, Borneo differed in the composition of the Y-autosomal translocation products from the closely related R. morio from Peninsular Malaysia, formerly also a subspecies of R. luctus. Therefore, elevation to specific rank is suggested for R. l. foetidus. Examination of the chromosomal set of male R. sedulus specimens from Borneo with 2n = 45 and a Neo-X1X2Y sex chromosome system revealed extreme differences to the karyotype of specimens from Peninsular Malaysia with 2n = 28, to date also classified as R. sedulus. Therefore, with Sarawak, Borneo, as the type locality for R. sedulus, the taxon from Peninsular Malaysia is here described as a new species.
{"title":"Cytogenetic Investigations in Bornean Rhinolophoidea Revealed Cryptic Diversity in Rhinolophus sedulus Entailing Classification of Peninsular Malaysia Specimens as a New Species","authors":"M. Volleth, F. Khan, S. Müller, R. Baker, Daniela Arenas-Viveros, R. Stevens, V. Trifonov, T. Liehr, K. Heller, C. Sotero-Caio","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.001","url":null,"abstract":"Classical and molecular cytogenetic methods were applied to study the karyotypes of one species of Hipposideridae and three taxa of the Rhinolophidae subgenus Aquias from Malaysian Borneo. Except for four chromosomal pairs with autapomorphic arm combinations, the karyotype of Coelops robinsoni was found to be similar to the closely related Aselliscus stoliczkanus. From the three Rhinolophus taxa studied, only R. trifoliatus was found to share the karyotype with conspecifics from Peninsular Malaysia. In contrast, the karyotype of R. luctus foetidus from Sarawak, Borneo differed in the composition of the Y-autosomal translocation products from the closely related R. morio from Peninsular Malaysia, formerly also a subspecies of R. luctus. Therefore, elevation to specific rank is suggested for R. l. foetidus. Examination of the chromosomal set of male R. sedulus specimens from Borneo with 2n = 45 and a Neo-X1X2Y sex chromosome system revealed extreme differences to the karyotype of specimens from Peninsular Malaysia with 2n = 28, to date also classified as R. sedulus. Therefore, with Sarawak, Borneo, as the type locality for R. sedulus, the taxon from Peninsular Malaysia is here described as a new species.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"1 - 20"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47578127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.021
C. Robinson, Jessica M. Robinson
The monitoring of bats across the world is mostly conducted using invasive mist-netting, whereby vertical nets are placed to capture bats mid-flight. Many studies have demonstrated how this approach causes sampling bias, is labor-intensive and increases the risk of white-nose syndrome fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, transmission among bats. Increasingly, acoustic devices are being employed to collect data on bat activity and richness. Community-based monitoring is an important data collection source for bat monitoring programs in countries such as the UK (National Bat Monitoring Program), whereby walking bat transects are conducted using bat detectors. Since the launch of smartphone devices to record and auto-identify bat echolocation calls, the quality of data collection that community members can collect has increased significantly, however, this approach is seldom used to generate data in scientific studies. In our study, we have showcased how our study design paired with state of the art acoustic monitoring devices, can be applied to community-based monitoring of bats across the world. Through employing smartphone acoustic devices, we have determined how primary and secondary vegetation cover are predictors of bat species occurrence and identified the importance of riverine and deciduous swamp habitats for rare bat species in southwestern Ontario.
{"title":"Listen But Do Not Touch: Using a Smartphone Acoustic Device to Investigate Bat Activity, with Implications for Community-Based Monitoring","authors":"C. Robinson, Jessica M. Robinson","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.021","url":null,"abstract":"The monitoring of bats across the world is mostly conducted using invasive mist-netting, whereby vertical nets are placed to capture bats mid-flight. Many studies have demonstrated how this approach causes sampling bias, is labor-intensive and increases the risk of white-nose syndrome fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, transmission among bats. Increasingly, acoustic devices are being employed to collect data on bat activity and richness. Community-based monitoring is an important data collection source for bat monitoring programs in countries such as the UK (National Bat Monitoring Program), whereby walking bat transects are conducted using bat detectors. Since the launch of smartphone devices to record and auto-identify bat echolocation calls, the quality of data collection that community members can collect has increased significantly, however, this approach is seldom used to generate data in scientific studies. In our study, we have showcased how our study design paired with state of the art acoustic monitoring devices, can be applied to community-based monitoring of bats across the world. Through employing smartphone acoustic devices, we have determined how primary and secondary vegetation cover are predictors of bat species occurrence and identified the importance of riverine and deciduous swamp habitats for rare bat species in southwestern Ontario.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"247 - 258"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46079360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.003
Jamie L. Alumbaugh, S. Goodman, K. Samonds
Extant Malagasy members of the genus Macronycteris are broadly distributed across the island and vary in size with respect to sex, bioclimatic zone, and intraspecific clade affinity. An extinct Quaternary species, M. besaoka, was considered morphologically distinct from modern Macronycteris based on its robust mandibles and wider molars. Since its description, taxonomic and phylogenetic revisions have reshaped our understanding of Malagasy Macronycteris. This included the discovery of the cryptic species M. cryptovalorona and the recognition of two clades within M. commersoni. Recent augmentation of museum cranial collections of Malagasy members of the genus has permitted renewed investigation into morphological trends. Herein, we examine craniodental morphology of modern Malagasy Macronycteris spp., and investigate the validity of M. besaoka through nonparametric multivariate methods. The results of this study support M. besaoka as a valid species. Further, some specimens previously diagnosed as M. besaoka are best associated with modern M. commersoni from the dry bioclimatic zone. These results have implications for the history of the bat community at Anjohibe Cave, as well as the identification of other Macronycteris subfossils from dry western Madagascar.
{"title":"Morphometric Analyses of Modern and Subfossil Macronycteris (Family Hipposideridae) Refine Groups from Anjohibe Cave, Northwestern Madagascar","authors":"Jamie L. Alumbaugh, S. Goodman, K. Samonds","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.003","url":null,"abstract":"Extant Malagasy members of the genus Macronycteris are broadly distributed across the island and vary in size with respect to sex, bioclimatic zone, and intraspecific clade affinity. An extinct Quaternary species, M. besaoka, was considered morphologically distinct from modern Macronycteris based on its robust mandibles and wider molars. Since its description, taxonomic and phylogenetic revisions have reshaped our understanding of Malagasy Macronycteris. This included the discovery of the cryptic species M. cryptovalorona and the recognition of two clades within M. commersoni. Recent augmentation of museum cranial collections of Malagasy members of the genus has permitted renewed investigation into morphological trends. Herein, we examine craniodental morphology of modern Malagasy Macronycteris spp., and investigate the validity of M. besaoka through nonparametric multivariate methods. The results of this study support M. besaoka as a valid species. Further, some specimens previously diagnosed as M. besaoka are best associated with modern M. commersoni from the dry bioclimatic zone. These results have implications for the history of the bat community at Anjohibe Cave, as well as the identification of other Macronycteris subfossils from dry western Madagascar.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"33 - 43"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47403036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-09DOI: 10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.020
Jennifer Barros, E. Bernard, R. Ferreira
Caves are among the most used and important roosts for hundreds of bat species worldwide. However, caves remain some of the least known and most threatened environments globally. Documenting the richness of bat species in caves is important not only to draw attention to the uniqueness and relevance of these roosts, but it also contributes to the identification of priority sites for the conservation of bats and the cave fauna dependent upon them. Here, we assessed and described an exceptionally high bat richness in a group of caves in southeastern Tocantins, central Brazil. Inventories carried out in 19 caves resulted in seven families and 31 bat species, of which three were new regional records. Twelve caves were used by threatened and endangered bat species, eight had high diversity indices, and seven caves had high species richness, including one cave that may hold a world record with 26 bat species found inside. The variation in beta diversity is mainly due to species turnover, which indicates that protecting the largest possible number of caves would be ideal for the most efficient conservation of local bat assemblages. The sampled region stands out for its high potential for the conservation of endangered species, and we strongly recommend the full protection of 15 caves classified as a priority for conservation.
{"title":"An Exceptionally High Bat Species Richness in a Cave Conservation Hotspot in Central Brazil","authors":"Jennifer Barros, E. Bernard, R. Ferreira","doi":"10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2021.23.1.020","url":null,"abstract":"Caves are among the most used and important roosts for hundreds of bat species worldwide. However, caves remain some of the least known and most threatened environments globally. Documenting the richness of bat species in caves is important not only to draw attention to the uniqueness and relevance of these roosts, but it also contributes to the identification of priority sites for the conservation of bats and the cave fauna dependent upon them. Here, we assessed and described an exceptionally high bat richness in a group of caves in southeastern Tocantins, central Brazil. Inventories carried out in 19 caves resulted in seven families and 31 bat species, of which three were new regional records. Twelve caves were used by threatened and endangered bat species, eight had high diversity indices, and seven caves had high species richness, including one cave that may hold a world record with 26 bat species found inside. The variation in beta diversity is mainly due to species turnover, which indicates that protecting the largest possible number of caves would be ideal for the most efficient conservation of local bat assemblages. The sampled region stands out for its high potential for the conservation of endangered species, and we strongly recommend the full protection of 15 caves classified as a priority for conservation.","PeriodicalId":50904,"journal":{"name":"Acta Chiropterologica","volume":"23 1","pages":"233 - 245"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44441866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}