Going batty: response of foraging glossophagine bats to auditorily perceived predator presence, August 2007

Alternative Title

Ir batty: respuesta de forrajeo de los murciélagos con la presencia de depredadores percibidos auditivamente

Creator

Hannah Kim Frank

Files

Publication Date

August 2007

Abstract

Predator presence is known to alter the foraging behavior of many species leading to decreased resource acquisition and lowered reproductive rate (Werner 1994). Previous studies have examined the effect of predator presence on the emergence of roosting bats and the effect of predator models on foraging bats (Baxter et al. 2006). Only one study, however, has examined the importance of auditory cues in alerting foraging bats to the presence of predators (in this case, owls; Baxter et al. 2006). The study concluded that bats not only avoid perceived owls but also the call of a diurnal woodpecker, leading the authors to question whether the latter finding was the result of novel sound avoidance or acoustic interference. This study, conducted in Monteverde, Costa Rica, investigated whether the findings of the earlier study were due to the effects of a novel sound or acoustic interference. Predator avoidance was quantified by counting number of visits to a hummingbird feeder after playing an owl call, a frog call or no call (a silent control). Significantly fewer visits were detected after the owl call than either the frog call or silence (ANOVA, F = 11.0203, p = 0.0001, df = 2) indicating the results of the previous study were due to novel sound avoidance. This study also reaffirmed the importance of auditory cues as a technique for predator detection in foraging bats, demonstrating a globally significant trait of bats.

Resumen

Se sabe que la presencia de depredadores puede cambiar el comportamiento de forrajeo de muchas especies, llevando a una reducción en la adquisición de recursos y bajando la tasa reproductiva (Werner 1994). Estudios anteriores examinaron el efecto de la presencia de depredadores afuera de los sitios de descanso de los murciélagos y el efecto de los modelos de los depredadores en los murciélagos que forrajean (Baxter et al. 2006). Sin embargo, solamente un estudio examino la importancia de las señales auditivas como alerta ante depredadores sobre los murciélagos que forrajean (búhos en este caso; Baxter et al 2006). En este estudio se concluyo que los murciélagos no solo evitan a los búhos que perciben sino que también el canto de un carpintero diurno, lo que llevo a los autores a cuestionar si lo encontrado es el resultado de evasión de un nuevo sonido o de evitar la interferencia acústica. En este estudio, realizado en Monteverde, Costa Rica se investigo si los resultados del estudio anterior se deben a los efectos de un sonido nuevo o la interferencia acústica.

Keywords

Bats--Behavior, Murcielagos--Comportamiento, Bats, Murcielagos, Predation (Biology), Depredacion (Biologia), CIEE Summer 2007

Palabras claves

Murciélagos--Comportamiento, Murciélagos, Depredación (Biología), CIEE Verano 2007

Extent

7 pages

Geographic Location

Monteverde (Puntarenas, Costa Rica)

Holding Location

Monteverde Institute

Language

English; Spanish

Media Type

Articles

Format

Digital Only

Identifier

M39-00402

Type

Book

Recommended Citation

Frank, Hannah Kim, "Going batty: response of foraging glossophagine bats to auditorily perceived predator presence, August 2007" (2007). Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]. 297.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tropical_ecology/297