Feeding habits of an ensemble of insectivorous bats of a Montane forest in the Argentine Yungas

Abstract

In spite of their fundamental ecological role in the Neotropics, little is known about the diet of many bat species. Although insectivorous species have long been considered effectives insect populations controllers, there has been no systematic study of the diet of insectivorous bats in Argentina. In this study, the diet of seven species of Vespertilionidae and Molossidae families of aerial insectivorous bats was analyzed seasonally at ensemble and species level in a montane forest. Lepidoptera and Coleoptera showed high contribution in terms of percent occurrence and percent volume of the diet at both the assemblage and species levels. Coleoptera dominated fecal sample of Eptesicus chiriquinus. No seasonal differences were observed at the assemblage level or for species analyzed in greater detail, Histiotus macrotus and Myotis nigricans. In spite of the limited sample size, data suggest a partitioning of food resources between species of different sizes. This partitioning is likely related to size of prey that a bat can actually catch and manipulate. The consumption of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera in proportions of more than 40% shows a tendency towards specialization of the entire ensemble in these orders.Fil: Bracamonte, Julio Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentin