<span style="font-size: 20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:black">Roosting patterns in a captive colony of short-nosed fruit bat <i>Cynopterus sphinx </i>(Vahl) </span>

Abstract

1187-1190<span style="font-size: 14.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif";="" color:black"="">Development of roosting patterns under a limited resource was studied in the short-nosed fruit bat <span style="font-size:15.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif";color:black"="">C. sphinx <span style="font-size:14.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif";color:black"="">in captivity. Spatial fidelity during the resting period (day time) and the individual male bat's presence/absence in the roost <span style="font-size: 14.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif";="" color:black"="">(occupancy index) were estimated during the active period (night time). Results show the presence of three groups on the basis of spatial fidelity. The first group was associated with the tent consisting of a harem male and seven females. The <span style="font-size: 14.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif";="" color:black"="">second group stayed near to the harem. The third group consisting of two males showed little occupancy index and no spatial fidelity. Female turnover between the first and second groups, and harem male replacement were observed. These findings of male groupings and female loyalty on the basis of "resource", suggest that resource defence pulygyny is the primary mating strategy in <span style="font-size:15.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif";color:black"="">C. sphinx. </span