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Respicio JMV, Dela Cruz KC, Hughes AC, Tanalgo KC. The behavioural costs of overcrowding for gregarious cave-dwelling bats. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:619-631. [PMID: 38556757 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Bats are known for their gregarious social behaviour, often congregating in caves and underground habitats, where they play a pivotal role in providing various ecosystem services. Studying bat behaviour remains an underexplored aspect of bat ecology and conservation despite its ecological importance. We explored the costs and impacts of overcrowding on bat social behaviour. This study examined variations in bat behavioural patterns between two distinct groups, aggregated and non-aggregated male Rousettus amplexicaudatus, within the Monfort Bat Cave Sanctuary on Mindanao Island, Philippines. We found significant variations in the incident frequencies of various bat behavioural activities, particularly aggression and movement, between these two groups. The increase in aggregation was closely related to negative social behaviour among bats. In contrast, sexual behaviour was significantly related to the positive behaviour of individual bats and was headed in less crowded areas. The disparities in bat behaviour with an apparent decline in bat social behaviour because of overcrowding, with more aggressive behaviours emerging, align with the 'behavioural sink' hypothesis. Our study underscores the importance of considering habitat quality and resource availability in the management and conservation of bat colonies, as these factors can reduce the occurrence of aggressive and negative social behaviours in colonies with high population density by providing alternative habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeaneth Magelen V Respicio
- Ecology and Conservation Research Laboratory (Eco/Con Lab), Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Philippines
| | - Kier C Dela Cruz
- Ecology and Conservation Research Laboratory (Eco/Con Lab), Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Philippines
| | - Alice C Hughes
- School of Life Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Krizler C Tanalgo
- Ecology and Conservation Research Laboratory (Eco/Con Lab), Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Philippines
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Kuo YJ, Lee YF, Kuo YM, Tai YL. Context-specific variation and repeatability in behavioral traits of bent-wing bats. ZOOLOGICAL LETTERS 2023; 9:8. [PMID: 37029405 PMCID: PMC10080966 DOI: 10.1186/s40851-023-00206-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Animals may show consistent among-individual behavioral differences over time and in different contexts, and these tendencies may be correlated to one another and emerge as behavioral syndromes. The cross-context variation in these behavioral tendencies, however, is rarely explored with animals in contexts associated with different locomotion modes. This study assessed the variation and repeatability in behavioral traits of bent-wing bats Miniopterus fuliginosus in southern Taiwan, and the effects of contextual settings associated with locomotion mode. The bats were sampled in the dry winter season, and their behaviors were measured in hole-board box (HB) and tunnel box (TB) tests, both suited for quadrupedal movements of the bats, and flight-tent (FT) tests that allowed for flying behaviors. The bats in the FT tests showed more interindividual and between-trial behavioral variation than those in the HB and TB tests. Nearly all of the behaviors in the TB and FT tests, but only half of those in the HB tests, showed medium to high repeatability. These repeatable behaviors were grouped into distinct behavioral traits of boldness, activity, and exploration, which were correlated to one another across contexts. In addition, we observed a consistently higher correlation between behavioral categories across the HB and TB contexts than between either of these contexts and the FT context. The results indicate consistent among-individual behavioral differences across time and contexts in wildly caught bent-wing bats. The findings of behavioral repeatability and cross-context correlations also indicate context-dependent variation and suggest that test devices which allow for flight behaviors, such as flight tents or cages, may provide a more suitable setting for measuring the behaviors and animal personalities of bats, particularly for those species that display less or little quadrupedal movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Jen Kuo
- Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Fu Lee
- Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan.
| | - Yen-Min Kuo
- Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan
| | - Yik Ling Tai
- Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan
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3
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Greville LJ, Tam AG, Faure PA. Evaluating odour and urinary sex preferences in the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus). CAN J ZOOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Olfactory cues provide detailed information to mammals regarding conspecifics. Bats may identify species, colony membership, and individuals using olfaction. Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796)) live in mixed-sex colonies and must differentiate between sexes to locate mates. We hypothesized that odour cues convey information about sex. In experiment 1, adult E. fuscus were recorded exploring a Y-maze that contained general body odours sampled from male or female conspecifics. One group of subjects was habituated to the Y-maze prior to experimental trials, whereas a second group was not. Bat exploration and the proportion of time spent near each scent were used as preference indicators for the body odour of a particular sex. Experiment 2 followed similar procedures except the odour cue tested was urine from either male or female conspecifics and without Y-maze habituation. Results found no evidence that E. fuscus prefer the body odours of a given sex, but females did prefer the odour of male urine. Non-habituated animals in experiment 1 were more likely to explore the Y-maze and approach a stimulus scent compared with habituated bats. These findings have important implications for courtship and mating behaviour in bats, as well for designing future behavioural studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas J.S. Greville
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Audrey G. Tam
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Paul A. Faure
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
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Wang Y, Shi B, Zhao X, Feng J, Jiang T. Morphological Correlates of Personality in Female Asian Particolored Bats (Vespertilio sinensis). Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:ani10020289. [PMID: 32059520 PMCID: PMC7070271 DOI: 10.3390/ani10020289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Personality emerges because of individual differences in repeatable state variables, such as metabolic rate, age, sex, or body size. Personality and its correlation with body size, however, have been relatively unexplored in bats. Our study showed that the exploration of female Asian particolored bats was significantly repeatable, but we did not find significant correlations among exploration, activity, and aggression. This finding suggested that female Asian particolored bats may not have a behavioral syndrome. Additionally, the body mass of female Asian particolored bats was correlated with aggression and activity, suggesting that body mass may have an impact on the behavioral characteristics of bats. Our findings not only added to the literature concerning personality in bats but are also helpful for understanding the maintenance of an animal’s personality. Abstract Personality traits represent a leading edge in the evolutionary process, as natural selection acts directly on variations in individual phenotypes within populations. Recent theoretical models have focused on the concept of adaptive state-dependent behavior, proposing that repeatable differences in behavior emerge because of individual differences in repeatable state variables, such as metabolic rate, age, sex, or body size. Personality and its correlation with body size, however, have been relatively unexplored in bats. We used female Asian particolored bats (Vespertilio sinensis) to investigate three personality characteristics (exploration, activity, and aggression) using the classic hole-board test and examined their relationships with body size using an information-theoretical approach. Our results showed that the exploration of female Asian particolored bats was significantly repeatable, but we did not find significant correlations among the three personality traits. This finding suggested that the female Asian particolored bat may not have a behavioral syndrome. In addition, the body mass of female Asian particolored bats was positively correlated with aggression but was negatively correlated with activity, suggesting that body mass was an important physiological basis affecting the behavioral characteristics of female Asian particolored bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuze Wang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China; (Y.W.); (B.S.)
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Biye Shi
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China; (Y.W.); (B.S.)
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Xin Zhao
- School of Psychology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010000, China;
| | - Jiang Feng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China; (Y.W.); (B.S.)
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, China
- Correspondence: (J.F.); (T.J.); Tel.: +86-0431-8916-5610 (J.F. & T.J.)
| | - Tinglei Jiang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China; (Y.W.); (B.S.)
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Correspondence: (J.F.); (T.J.); Tel.: +86-0431-8916-5610 (J.F. & T.J.)
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Quackenbush H, D’Acunto LE, Flaherty EA, Zollner PA. Testing the efficacy of an acoustic lure on bat mist-netting success in North American central hardwood forests. J Mammal 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyw125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Streicker DG, Allgeier JE. Foraging choices of vampire bats in diverse landscapes: potential implications for land-use change and disease transmission. J Appl Ecol 2016; 53:1280-1288. [PMID: 27499553 PMCID: PMC4950014 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
In Latin America, the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus is the primary reservoir of rabies, a zoonotic virus that kills thousands of livestock annually and causes sporadic and lethal human rabies outbreaks. The proliferation of livestock provides an abundant food resource for this obligate blood‐feeding species that could alter its foraging behaviour and rabies transmission, but poor understanding of the dietary plasticity of vampire bats limits understanding of how livestock influences rabies risk. We analysed individual‐ and population‐level foraging behaviour by applying δ13C and δ15N stable isotope analysis to hair samples from 183 vampire bats captured from nine colonies in Peru. We also assessed the isotopic distributions of realized prey by analysing blood meals extracted from engorged bats and samples collected from potential prey species. In two adjacent but contrasting areas of the Amazon with scarce and abundant livestock, we used questionnaires to evaluate the incidence of feeding on humans. Population‐level isotopic signatures suggested substantial among‐site variation in feeding behaviour, including reliance on livestock in some colonies and feeding on combinations of domestic and wild prey in others. Isotopic heterogeneity within bat colonies was among the largest recorded in vertebrate populations, indicating that individuals consistently fed on distinct prey resources and across distinct trophic levels. In some sites, isotopic values of realized prey spanned broad ranges, suggesting that bats with intermediate isotopic values could plausibly be dietary specialists rather than generalists. Bayesian estimates of isotopic niche width varied up to ninefold among colonies and were maximized where wildlife and livestock were present at low levels, but declined with greater availability of livestock. In the Amazon, the absence of livestock was associated with feeding on humans and wildlife. Policy implications. We provide the first insights into the foraging behaviour of vampire bats in habitats with common depredation on humans and show how vampire bat foraging may respond to land‐use change. Our results demonstrate risks of rabies transmission from bats to other wildlife and are consistent with the hypothesis that introducing livestock might reduce the burden of human rabies in high‐risk communities.
We provide the first insights into the foraging behaviour of vampire bats in habitats with common depredation on humans and show how vampire bat foraging may respond to land‐use change. Our results demonstrate risks of rabies transmission from bats to other wildlife and are consistent with the hypothesis that introducing livestock might reduce the burden of human rabies in high‐risk communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel G Streicker
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8QQ United Kingdom; Medical Research Council-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research Glasgow G61 1QH United Kingdom; Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia 140 East Green St. Athens GA 30602 USA
| | - Jacob E Allgeier
- School of Aquatic and Fisheries Science University of Washington Seattle WA USA
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Abstract
Little is known about the ecology of many of the parasites and pathogens affecting bats, but host social behavior almost certainly plays an important role in bat-parasite dynamics. Understanding parasite dynamics for bats is important from a human public health perspective because of their role as natural reservoirs for recent high-profile emerging zoonotic pathogens (e.g. Ebola, Hendra) and from a bat conservation perspective because of the recent emergence of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North America highlighting the potential population impacts of parasites and pathogens. Although some bat species are among the most gregarious of mammals, species vary widely in terms of their social behavior and this variation could influence pathogen transmission and impacts. Here, we review the literature on links between bat social behavior and parasite dynamics. Using standardized search terms in Web of Science, we identified articles that explicitly tested or discussed links between some aspect of bat sociality and parasite transmission or host population impacts. We identified social network analysis, epidemiological modeling, and interspecific comparative analyses as the most commonly used methods to quantify relationships between social behavior and parasite-risk in bats while WNS, Hendra virus, and arthropod ectoparasites were the most commonly studied host-parasite systems. We summarize known host-parasite relationships in these three systems and propose testable hypotheses that could improve our understanding of links between host sociality and parasite-dynamics in bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Ortega
- Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México City, Mexico
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Lukas D, Huchard E. Sexual conflict. The evolution of infanticide by males in mammalian societies. Science 2014; 346:841-4. [PMID: 25395534 DOI: 10.1126/science.1257226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Male mammals often kill conspecific offspring. The benefits of such infanticide to males, and its costs to females, probably vary across mammalian social and mating systems. We used comparative analyses to show that infanticide primarily evolves in social mammals in which reproduction is monopolized by a minority of males. It has not promoted social counterstrategies such as female gregariousness, pair living, or changes in group size and sex ratio, but is successfully prevented by female sexual promiscuity, a paternity dilution strategy. These findings indicate that infanticide is a consequence, rather than a cause, of contrasts in mammalian social systems affecting the intensity of sexual conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dieter Lukas
- Large Animal Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
| | - Elise Huchard
- Large Animal Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
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Domestication effects on behavioural traits and learning performance: comparing wild cavies to guinea pigs. Anim Cogn 2014; 18:99-109. [PMID: 24997777 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-014-0781-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2014] [Revised: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 06/25/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The domestication process leads to a change in behavioural traits, usually towards individuals that are less attentive to changes in their environment and less aggressive. Empirical evidence for a difference in cognitive performance, however, is scarce. Recently, a functional linkage between an individual's behaviour and cognitive performance has been proposed in the framework of animal personalities via a shared risk-reward trade-off. Following this assumption, bolder and more aggressive animals (usually the wild form) should learn faster. Differences in behaviour may arise during ontogeny due to individual experiences or represent adaptations that occurred over the course of evolution. Both might singly or taken together account for differences in cognitive performance between wild and domestic lineages. To test for such possible linkages, we compared wild cavies and domestic guinea pigs, both kept in a university stock for more than 30 years under highly comparable conditions. Animals were tested in three behavioural tests as well as for initial and reversal learning performance. Guinea pigs were less bold and aggressive than their wild congeners, but learnt an association faster. Additionally, the personality structure was altered during the domestication process. The most likely explanation for these findings is that a shift in behavioural traits and their connectivity led to an altered cognitive performance. A functional linkage between behavioural and cognitive traits seems to exist in the proposed way only under natural selection, but not in animals that have been selected artificially over centuries.
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Abstract
Animal personality or temperament refers to individual differences in behaviour that are repeatable over time and across contexts. Personality has been linked to life-history traits, energetic traits and fitness, with implications for the evolution of behaviour. Personality has been quantified for a range of taxa (e.g., fish, songbirds, small mammals) but, so far, there has been little work on personality in bats, despite their diversity and potential as a model taxon for comparative studies. We used a novel environment test to quantify personality in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and assess the short-term repeatability of a range of behaviours. We tested the hypothesis that development influences values of personality traits and predicted that trait values associated with activity would increase between newly volant, pre-weaning young-of-the-year (YOY) and more mature, self-sufficient YOY. We identified personality dimensions that were consistent with past studies of other taxa and found that these traits were repeatable over a 24-hour period. Consistent with our prediction, older YOY captured at a fall swarming site prior to hibernation had higher activity scores than younger YOY bats captured at a maternity colony, suggesting that personality traits vary as development progresses in YOY bats. Thus, we found evidence of short-term consistency of personality within individuals but with the potential for temporal flexibility of traits, depending on age.
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Kilgour R, Faure P, Brigham R. Evidence of social preferences in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). CAN J ZOOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2013-0057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Among social species, iterative interactions may lead to social preferences among group-mates and often are associated with increased mating opportunities or improved indirect fitness benefits. Although preferential associations have been documented in multiple species, this phenomenon has never been empirically studied in bats—the second largest order of mammals, where many of the 1200+ species live in groups of tens to hundreds of individuals. Given the current understanding of the social behaviour exhibited in this species, we explored the possibility that adult female big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus (Beauvois, 1796)) show preferential association between group-mates using a pairwise choice design with individuals from a captive colony. Focal individuals were placed in a Y-maze and were given free choice of two familiar conspecifics. We measured the time focal individuals spent in close proximity to each conspecific. Our results indicate that some bats exhibit preferential association between group-mates, as multiple individuals spent significantly more time in close proximity to one conspecific versus another, despite randomizing the position of stimulus bats between trials. Given the frequent and long-term associations between group members of this species, social preferences could play a significant role in the outcomes of their long-term fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- R.J. Kilgour
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - P.A. Faure
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - R.M. Brigham
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
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