Noise Reduces Foraging Efficiency in Pallid Bats (Antrozous pallidus )

Ethology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 121 (11) ◽  
pp. 1116-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie Patrice Bunkley ◽  
Jesse Rex Barber
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Efficiency ◽  
Antrozous Pallidus ◽  
Pallid Bats

scholarly journals Mesquite bugs, other insects, and a bat in the diet of pallid bats in southeastern Arizona

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e6065
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Czaplewski ◽  
Katrina L. Menard ◽  
William D. Peachey
Keyword(s):  
Late Summer ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Noninvasive Method ◽  
Antrozous Pallidus ◽  
Soil Piping ◽  
Pallid Bats ◽  
Small Vertebrate ◽  
Bat Wing ◽  
Pallid Bat

The pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) is a species of western North America, inhabiting ecoregions ranging from desert to oak and pine forest. They are primarily insectivorous predators on large arthropods that occasionally take small vertebrate prey, and are at least seasonally omnivorous in certain parts of their geographic range where they take nectar from cactus flowers and eat cactus fruit pulp and seeds. Until recently, mesquite bugs were primarily tropical-subtropical inhabitants of Mexico and Central America but have since occupied the southwestern United States where mesquite trees occur. Using a noninvasive method, we investigated the bats’ diet at the Cienega Creek Natural Preserve, Arizona, by collecting food parts discarded beneath three night roosts in soil-piping cavities in a mesquite bosque. We also made phenological and behavioral observations of mesquite bugs, Thasus neocalifornicus, and their interactions with the mesquite trees. We determined that the bats discarded inedible parts of 36 species in 8 orders of mainly large-bodied and nocturnal insects below the night-roosts. In addition, one partial bat wing represents probable predation upon a phyllostomid bat, Choeronycteris mexicana. About 17 of the insect taxa are newly reported as prey for pallid bats, as is the bat C. mexicana. The majority of culled insect parts (88%) were from adult mesquite bugs. Mesquite bug nymphs did not appear in the culled insect parts. After breeding in late summer, when nighttime low temperatures dropped below 21 °C, the adult bugs became immobile on the periphery of trees where they probably make easy prey for opportunistic foliage-gleaning pallid bats. Proximity of night-roosts to mesquite bug habitat probably also enhances the bats’ exploitation of these insects in this location.

Effect of climatic variation on reproduction by pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus)

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 1429-1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Gestation Length ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Juvenile Mortality ◽  
Antrozous Pallidus ◽  
Lactating Females ◽  
Pallid Bats ◽  
Spring Temperatures

Bats are unusual among mammals in having the ability to respond to fluctuating climatic conditions by employing either a homeothermic or a heterothermic strategy. Low temperatures affect insectivorous bats by increasing the energy required for homeothermy while roosting and by decreasing the energy available due to lower activity of insect prey. Low temperatures may be particularly costly to pregnant and lactating bats because these experience greater energetic demands due to gestation and milk production. The use of heterothermy may increase gestation length and decrease milk production. In a 2-year study of female pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus) in central Oregon, I found that lower spring temperatures in 1991 than in 1990 were correlated with a higher percentage of nonreproductive females, delayed parturition dates, reduced synchrony of parturition, and lower body mass of lactating females. Overall reproductive success was probably lower in 1991 as a result of females not reproducing or of juvenile mortality. In 1991, both females and juveniles were probably in poorer condition prior to migrating and entering hibernation. The effects of temperature on reproduction in this ground-foraging bat are similar to those documented for aerial insectivorous bats. These results have implications for conservation and management of this species in the northern part of its range.

Pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) foraging over native and vineyard habitats in British Columbia, Canada

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 816-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.A. Rambaldini ◽  
R.M. Brigham
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Optimal Foraging Theory ◽  
Prey Abundance ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Native Habitat ◽  
Antrozous Pallidus ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Pallid Bats ◽  
Pallid Bat

Optimal foraging theory predicts organisms will forage in habitats providing the most profitable prey. Human alterations to ecosystems may affect predators’ foraging activity by changing landscape features, prey types, and prey availability. Assessing the selection of foraging habitats in a heterogeneous landscape can provide data to improve land management and conservation policies. In Canada, the pallid bat ( Antrozous pallidus (LeConte, 1856); Vespertilionidae) is listed as threatened partly because of loss or modification of shrub–steppe habitat. Our purpose was to determine if vineyards provide a suitable surrogate for foraging habitat relative to native habitat. We used pitfall traps to compare prey abundance in each habitat and analyzed faeces to assess diet composition. Over 24 nights, we surveyed both habitats for foraging bats. Bats foraged over vineyards, but we recorded significantly more foraging activity over native habitat. We collected over 2000 arthropods in pitfall traps and found significantly more in native habitat compared with vineyards. Species eaten by pallid bats were present in both habitats. Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabidae) and Jerusalem crickets (Orthopthera: Stenopelmatidae) represented the principal prey. The use of vineyards by pallid bats for foraging suggests that while they are adapting to a changing landscape, reduced prey abundance in vineyards may negatively affect them over the long term.

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