Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 1-5, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

Nectar feeding behavior in the short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx (Pteropodidae)

VADAMALAI ELANGOVAN¹, GANAPATHY MARIMUTHU¹ and THOMAS H. KUNZ²

1 Department of Animal Behaviour and Physiology, School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625 021, India; E-mail of GM: Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript. 2 Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Nectar feeding behavior of the short-nosed bat, Cynopterus sphinx, was observed under natural conditions in South India. Nectar production of 'steady-state' flowers of Musa ´ paradisiaca and 'big-bang' flowers of Bassia latifolia was quantified. Cynopterus sphinx typically foraged alone on flowers of M. ´ paradisiaca and as groups on B. latifolia, largely in response to the availability of these floral resources. Peak visits on flowers of M. ´ paradisiaca by C. sphinx occurred at 2000 h and on B. latifolia at 2100 h. Peak visits coincided with the maximum nectar production and sugar concentration of these floral resources. In addition to feeding on nectar early in the evening, C. sphinx acquired additional energy by feeding on carbohydrate-rich fruit. In return for these food resources, C. sphinx provides important pollination and seed-dispersal services to the plants that they visit nightly, and thus can profoundly influence the co-evolution of plants and bats.

Key words: Cynopterus sphinx, nectar-feeding, plant-visiting, group foraging, solitary foraging, co-evolution

Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 7-14, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

Social dominance and cluster formation in Chaerephon pumilus (Molossidae)

CHRISTOPHER M. SOMERS^{1, 2} and SYLVIE BOUCHARD¹

1 York University, Department of Biology, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3 2 Present address: McMaster University, Department of Biology, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1; E-mail: Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript.

The sequestering of resources by dominant individuals is commonly observed in group-living mammals. Most bats are gregarious, yet we do not know what impact social dominance may have on the way they share roosts, a common limiting resource for many species. We videotaped a captive group of 10 little free-tailed bats (Chaerephon pumilus) to examine the relationship between social rank and ability to become part of clusters during roosting. Overall, bats of higher social rank were more successful in joining clusters. When the sexes were analyzed independently, males successfully joined clusters more often against lower ranked individuals, whereas females did not. Contrary to predictions, the most dominant male did not exclude subordinate males from joining clusters containing females. The nature of female relationships is unclear, however they probably do not exert dominance over one another while roosting because of the metabolic benefits of clustering.

Key words: Chaerephon pumilus, cluster, dominance, roosting, captivity

Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 15-22, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

Dietary composition and habitat use in a desert insectivorous bat community in Israel

RACHELI FELDMAN¹, JOHN O. WHITAKER, JR.², and YORAM YOM-TOV^{1, 3}

1 Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel 2 Department of Life Sciences, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA 3 Corresponding author: E-mail: Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript.

Diet and habitat selection of several species of insectivorous bats were studied in the Dead Sea area, Israel. Significant differences in diet composition were found among the species studied. Long-eared bats (Plecotus austriacus and Nycteris thebaica) tended to feed on Lepidoptera, and N. thebaica also on Diptera; Asellia tridens and Rhinolophus clivosus on Coleoptera and Hymenoptera; Rhinolophus hipposideros on Lepidoptera and Diptera; Eptesicus bottae on Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera; Pipistrellus bodenheimeri and Pipistrellus kuhlii on Diptera and Lepidoptera; and Pipistrellus rueppellii on Diptera. Dietary niche breadth (B%v) was widest for P. bodenheimeri and narrowest for P. austriacus. There were significant species-related differences in habitat utilization. Tadarida teniotis and Rhinopoma hardwickei foraged almost exclusively in open areas; 'over water' habitat was preferred by P. rueppellii and utilized extensively also by P. bodenheimeri; 'near street lights' and 'edges of vegetation and cliffs' by P. kuhlii; 'edges of vegetation and cliffs' by P. bodenheimeri and E. bottae, and 'cluttered environment' by A. tridens, R. hipposideros, and R. clivosus. Community structure of these bats is discussed.

Key words: Microchiroptera, diet, niche breadth, habitat selection, Israel

Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 23-36, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

The bat fauna of the Saül region, French Guiana

NANCY B. SIMMONS¹, ROBERT S. VOSS¹, and HEATHER C. PECKHAM²

1 Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; E-mail of NBS: Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript. 2 Yale School of Forestry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA

The area around Saül, French Guiana, offers easy access to undisturbed lowland primary rainforest as well as cleared and disturbed areas near human settlements. Fieldwork conducted at Les Eaux Claires (a homestead 7 km N of Saül) in July and August 1999 resulted in capture of 40 species of bats, including 17 species previously unknown from the area. Together with records from prior studies, this brings the known bat fauna of the Saül region to 54 species. Consideration of collecting methods and comparisons with faunas from elsewhere in French Guiana suggest that the present faunal list is strongly biased in favor of understory gleaners and frugivores (members of the phyllostomid subfamilies Phyllostominae, Carolliinae, and Stenodermatinae). During our sampling period, bat capture rates were higher in modified habitats (manmade clearings, secondary growth, ad disturbed forest) than in primary forest, but species accumulation rates were higher in primary forest than in modified habitats. Phyllostomines accounted for the majority of captures in primary forest, while stenodermatines accounted for most captures in modified habitats. Analysis of faunal relationships indicates that the at list is most similar to those from the lower Arataye region and neighboring sites in French Guiana. French Guianan bat faunas cluster with those from other sites in the Guiana subregion of Amazonia, and are distinct from those of southeastern and western Amazonian localities.

Key words: Chiroptera, French Guiana, inventory, sampling bias, habitat preference, biogeography

Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 37-51, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

Noteworthy records of bats from Ecuador

FIONA A. REID, MARK D. ENGSTROM, and BURTON K. LIM

Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada; E-mail of MDE: Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript.

We surveyed mammals at a site in Napo Province, eastern Ecuador, in 1995 and 1996. We recorded 66 species at the site, including four species new to the fauna of Ecuador (Cynomops paranus, Eumops hansae, E. maurus, and Molossus coibensis), two species recorded for the first time from eastern Ecuador (Lichonycteris obscura and Promops centralis), and a new record for Napo Province (Artibeus gnomus). Although species richness of bats is among the highest recorded in any single area in western Amazonia, the inventory still probably considerably underestimates total species-level diversity.

Key words: Chiroptera, distribution, Ecuador, Napo Province, species richness

Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 53-82, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

A review of bat research in Myanmar (Burma) and results of a recent survey

PAUL J. J. BATES¹, TIN NWE², MALCOLM J. PEARCH¹, KHIN MAUNG SWE², SI SI HLA BU², and THANDA TUN²

1 Harrison Institute, Centre for Systematics and Biodiversity Research, Bowerwood House, St. Botolph's Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 3AQ, Great Britain; E-mail: Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript. 2 Department of Zoology, University of Yangon, Yangon, Myanmar

Although the systematic research of bats in Myanmar (Burma) began some 140 years ago, relatively few studies were conducted in the latter half of the 20th century. This paper seeks to review previous published research (1863-2000). It lists the 88 species currently recorded from the country and provides a baseline for further studies. Additionally, it includes the results of a recent bat survey in Mon and Kayin States and Mandalay Division during which voucher specimens of 14 species were collected. Rhinolophus malayanus is recorded from Myanmar for the first time and its diagnostic characters are compared with other taxa in Rhinolophus ferrumequinum group. The survey also confirmed the presence of Miniopterus pusillus, included the second record of Taphozous theobaldi and a major range extension for Miniopterus magnater. Taxonomic notes and data on national and extralimital distributions, ecology and conservation status are included for each of the 14 species.

Key words: Chiroptera, Myanmar, Burma, systematics, distribution, ecology, conservation, Rhinolophus malayanus

Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 83-96, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

The bat fauna of Bali and Nusa Penida, Lesser Sunda Islands: corrections and additions (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

DIETER KOCK¹ and KLAUS DOBAT²

1 Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325 Frankfurt a. M., Germany E-mail: Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript. 2 Botanischer Garten, Universität Tübingen, Hartmeyerstr. 123, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany

Reviewed is the Chiropteran fauna of Bali Island. A previous checklist is up-dated by recent publications and complemented by an additional collection, comprising new species records. Bat records for neighbouring Nusa Penida are included, because species collected from this island are erroneously quoted for Bali. A total of 40 and ten species are documented for Bali and Nusa Penida, respectively. Of 35 species on a previous checklist for Bali, four should be deleted (including a Miniopterus species recorded by two different species names), ten others have been listed for Bali, but one of these erroneously, and at least two are doubtful, as no collected specimens are documented. Of the ten species on Nusa Penida, three are unrecorded from Bali, though often erroneously cited for this island.

Key words: Chiropteran fauna, Bali, Nusa Penida, Lesser Sunda Islands, bibliography, checklist

Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 97-105, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

Complete albinism is a rare phenomenon that occurs in all vertebrate groups. In bats, albinism has been recorded in several species but this information has not previously been reviewed in detail nor has there been an analysis of its importance. In this study, cases of albinism from the literature are checked and new cases are presented. Complete albinism in bats is documented in eight families, 38 species, and at least 64 individuals (47.4%++ and 52.6%>>; n = 38). Of these, 39 individuals were observed and/or captured in sheltered roosts, such as caves (51.3%), mines and galleries (20.5%), buildings (17.9%), and hollow-trees and bird boxes (7.7%). Only one albino bat (2.6%) was captured in an external roost (foliage). This individual is the fruit bat, Artibeus planirostris, which is recorded here for the first time. Information on four additional cases of albino individuals of the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, is also presented. It is suggested that sheltered roosts favour survival of albino bats, offering protection against sunlight, water loss, and visually hunting predators.

Key words: albinism, Desmodus rotundus, Artibeus planirostris, Brazil

Acta Chiropterologica, 2(1): 107-122, 2000

PL ISSN 1508-1109 copyright Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS

Of the family Pteropodidae (Megachiroptera), only the placentae of Rousettus and Pteropus have been examined ultrastructurally. Recently, the interhemal membrane characteristics of some members of this family have been questioned. We report here on the fine structure of the interhemal membrane of Rousettus leschenaulti and Cynopterus sphinx gangeticus. Contrary to earlier reports of a consistent endotheliochorial nature of the membrane until mid-gestation in Rousettus, such a condition is found to be restricted to the trilaminar blastocyst stage. Thereafter, the placental membrane was hemodichorial. We also document how the trophoblast surface has been modified to create honeycombed intrasyncytial desmosomes in Rousettus. The intrasyncytial lamina and maternal endothelium are lacking in the hemodichorial interhemal membrane of Cynopterus.

Key words: Megachiroptera, Pteropodidae, Cynopterus sphinx, Rousettus leschenaulti, interhemal membrane, placenta