Sexual differences in the annual lipid cycle of the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 1891-1894 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Pistole
Keyword(s):  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Fat Deposition ◽  
Caloric Content ◽  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Mating Season ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Big Brown Bat ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Males And Females

The annual lipid cycle in male and female big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus, was studied in relation to the reproductive patterns for each sex. The basic pattern of lipid deposition and use was similar in males and females; however, there were differences between the sexes in the timing of these activities. Females began rapid fat deposition 1 month earlier than males. The beginning of rapid fat deposition in females is associated with the end of lactation and in males with the end of spermatogenesis and the peak mating season. Rates of fat use were similar between the sexes for the entire hibernation period, but the rate in females was more consistent than the rate in males. The caloric content of male bats did not differ throughout the year, but females had higher values during pregnancy and lactation than at other times of the year. Differences between the sexes in the timing of specific events within the annual lipid cycle appear to be adaptations for optimizing reproductive success.

Flexibility in foraging and roosting behaviour by the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Mark Brigham
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Foraging Area ◽  
South Central ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Big Brown Bat ◽  
Pine Trees

I used radiotelemetry to study the roosting and foraging behaviour of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in south central British Columbia. Maternity colonies were found in hollows of dead ponderosa pine trees (Pinus ponderosa) and colony members were not loyal to specific trees. Individuals consistently foraged above a 300-m stretch of the Okanagan River, travelling 1.8 km on average from day roosts to the foraging area. There were significant differences in the duration of foraging bouts among different sex and age-classes. The results are compared with data collected in a similar manner for a population in Ontario, where, in contrast to British Columbia, E. fuscus were highly loyal to man-made roost structures and on average travelled less than 1 km to foraging sites that varied nightly. I suggest that the marked difference in both roosting and foraging behaviour is due to differences in the availability and structure of roosts and in the distribution of insect prey.

scholarly journals Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Predation on Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in Pennsylvania

2012 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Suzanne M. Khalafalla ◽  
Carlos A. Iudica
Keyword(s):  
Barn Owl ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Documented Case ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Big Brown Bat

Diet of the Barn Owl, Tyto alba, was determined through examination of pellets collected from a roost site in Port Trevorton, Snyder County, Pennsylvania (40°42'26"N, 76°51'58"W). Remains of a Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus fuscus, were positively identified in one of the 80 pellets from our site. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of a Barn Owl preying on a bat in Pennsylvania.

Metabolic programming in offspring of mice fed fructose during pregnancy and lactation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Marina Lummertz Magenis ◽  
Adriani Paganini Damiani ◽  
Gustavo de Bem Silveira ◽  
Ligia Salvan Dagostin ◽  
Pamela Souza de Marcos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Liver Disease ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Nitrite Concentration ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
Biochemical Effects ◽  
High Consumption ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
And Oxidative Stress

Abstract Fructose (C6H12O6), also known as levulose, is a hexose. Chronic consumption of fructose may be associated with increased intrahepatic fat concentration and the development of insulin resistance as well as an increase in the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and hyperlipidemia during pregnancy. Despite the existence of many studies regarding the consumption of fructose in pregnancy, its effects on fetuses have not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic and biochemical effects in offspring (male and female) of female mice treated with fructose during pregnancy and lactation. Pairs of 60-day-old Swiss mice were used and divided into three groups; negative control and fructose, 10%/l and 20%/l doses of fructose groups. After offspring birth, the animals were divided into six groups: P1 and P2 (males and females), water; P3 and P4 (males and females) fructose 10%/l; and P5 and P6 (males and females) fructose 20%/l. At 30 days of age, the animals were euthanized for genetic and biochemical assessments. Female and male offspring from both dosage groups demonstrated genotoxicity (evaluated through comet assay) and oxidative stress (evaluated through nitrite concentration, sulfhydril content and superoxide dismutase activity) in peripheral and brain tissues. In addition, they showed nutritional and metabolic changes due to the increase in food consumption, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, it is suggested that high consumption of fructose by pregnant female is harmful to their offspring. Thus, it is important to carry out further studies and make pregnant women aware of excessive fructose consumption during this period.

Male and Female Competitive Strategies of Wild House Mice Pairs (Mus Musculus Domesticus) Confronted With Intruders of Different Sex and Age in Artificial Territories

Behaviour ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 863-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Palanza ◽  
L. Re ◽  
D. Mainardi ◽  
P.F. Brain ◽  
S. Parmigiani
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Mus Musculus Domesticus ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Wild House Mice ◽  
Males And Females

Male and female aggression at different reproductive stages was investigated in pairs of wild mice. Fourteen pairs of laboratory-outbred wild mice were established, each pair living in a multiple set of cages, connected by runaways. Intruder tests were carried out at different stages of the reproductive cycle, i.e. 48 h after introduction, during pregnancy and lactation. In these stages, a female, a male and two pups were consecutively introduced in each territory (24 h separating each intrusion). Male residents were highly aggressive towards (and always intolerant of) male but not female intruders. Conversely, resident females preferentially attacked same sex intruders after colony establishment and during pregnancy, but they attacked either sex of intruder when nursing young. Seven out of 14 female intruders were tolerated 48 h after introduction of residents but tolerance of females decreased during pregnancy and lactation. Male and female residents were essentially responsible for the intolerance of same-sex intruders. Both males and females exhibited infanticide, but sex differences in the timing of attack on alien pups were observed. In the 7 colonies where the intruder female was tolerated (since that two females were present) only one female reproduced successfully. This suggests that, as in males, females of this stock compete for the opportunity to reproduce; they can be exclusively territorial or form a dominance hierarchy which probably determines reproductive success. While male competitive aggression appears to be mostly directed to other males, females seem largely responsible of the regulation of the reproductive potential of a deme unit throughout intrasexual aggression (intolerance towards other females), and possibly also inhibition of subordinate reproduction and killing of unrelated pups.

Differences in the foraging behaviour of male and female Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus)

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 466-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M.R. Barclay ◽  
D.S. Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Fruit Bats ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Males And Females

Male and female animals frequently have different foraging behaviours owing to differences in body size or nutritional demand, or to intraspecific competition. We studied foraging by Egyptian fruit bats ( Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy, 1810)) in Cape Town, South Africa, to test predictions based on differences in nutritional demand during reproduction. Using radiotelemetry, we compared emergence, return, and foraging times of males and females during pregnancy and lactation. We also determined home-range size, habitat use, and use of figs (genus Ficus L.), which are a potential source of calcium for lactating females. During the pregnancy period, males left their roost later than females and were away from the roost for shorter periods. There were no differences in timing of foraging during lactation. Females foraged in native forest more than males did, but home-range size did not differ. There was no evidence that females fed on figs more than males did. Differences in foraging behaviour were not as predicted based on nutritional and energetic differences. The small population may have meant that there was little competition for food, and figs may have provided a profitable source of energy for both males and females. Differences in the timing of foraging are best explained by the need for males to defend roosting sites.

Roosting behaviour and roost selection of female big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) roosting in rock crevices in southeastern Alberta

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 1069-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cori L Lausen ◽  
Robert M.R Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Roost Selection ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
South Saskatchewan River ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Physical Attributes ◽  
Selection Of

We studied big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) roosting in rock crevices along the South Saskatchewan River in southeastern Alberta. We documented roosting behaviour and roost selection. During pregnancy and lactation, individuals aggregated as several small groups or one large group (maternity colony). Postlactating females roosted alone more frequently. During postlactation, individuals periodically returned to roost with a group dominated by pups, between periods of roosting alone. We identified 72 roosts used by members of the colony. Adult females switched roosts frequently and few roosts (24%) were reused. During pregnancy and lactation, the colony roosted in a 1.25-km length of the river valley on the northwest side of the river. With the onset of postlactation, females began roosting on both sides of the river and within a longer section of the river valley, and roosts faced in a more southerly direction. Crevices selected as roosts were more vertical in orientation, were farther from level ground above, and had openings that were smaller than those randomly available. Roosts used during pregnancy, lactation, and postlactation differed in physical attributes; lactation roosts were deeper and had larger openings. Selection of crevices with particular attributes suggested that selection was based on microclimate and avoidance of predation.

Pituitary content of luteinizing hormone reveals species differences in the reproductive synchrony between males and females in Australian flying-foxes (genus Pteropus)

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. O'Brien ◽  
J. R. McFarlane ◽  
P. J. Kearney
Keyword(s):  
Luteinizing Hormone ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Mating Season ◽  
Reproductive Seasonality ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Flying Fox

Flying-foxes (genus Pteropus, suborder Megachiroptera) are long-lived tropical mammals. Their seasonal reproduction appears to be regulated by an endogenous, circannual rhythm modified by multiple environmental cues. Luteinizing hormone (LH) content in pituitary extracts was examined to establish the broad time-frame of pituitary stages in the reproductive seasonality of the flying-foxes. A comparison was made between the grey-headed flying-fox P. poliocephalus, which mates and conceives in autumn, and the little red flying-fox P. scapulatus, which mates and conceives in spring. In P. scapulatus, LH was maximum during the spring mating season at 1494 ng mg−1 in males and 896 ng mg−1 in females. In P. poliocephalus males, LH increased to 1082 ng mg−1 in early summer, 4 months before the mating season; LH concentrations in male P. poliocephalus returned to a low of 222 ng mg−1 by the time of the autumn mating, by which time the female P. poliocephalus expressed elevated LH concentrations (624 ng mg−1). Apparently in P. poliocephalus, the peak LH concentrations in females are delayed by 4 months relative to LH concentrations in males. This is associated with 4 months of energetic courtship on the part of male P. poliocephalus, which is not observed in P. scapulatus, the fertility of which is synchronized between the sexes. The heterologous radioimmunoassay developed using monoclonal antibody 518B7 confirmed classic suppression of LH during pregnancy and lactation in flying-foxes and LH elevation in response to gonadectomy. Juveniles generally had pituitary levels similar to non-breeding levels in adults.

Behavioural repeatability in the Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus fuscus

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 699-717
Author(s):  
Amanda Boyer ◽  
Hanna Karevold ◽  
Derek T. Kreuger ◽  
Ned A. Dochtermann ◽  
Erin H. Gillam
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Behavioural Plasticity ◽  
Captive Population ◽  
Behavioural Syndromes ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Big Brown Bat ◽  
Range Of Variation ◽  
High Repeatability

Abstract Work on animal personality, characterized by high behavioural repeatability, shows that animals exhibit limits to plasticity, with an individual’s range of variation only covering a portion of the range observed across the entire population. This work is particularly important for understanding the underlying genetic basis of behaviours. While research on behavioural repeatability has spanned many taxa, little work has focused on bats. Our objective was to determine if big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) exhibit moderate to high repeatability of different behavioural traits and if behavioural syndromes (among-individual correlations between behaviours) are present. Using a captive population, repeatability was assessed for aggression, exploration, and activity. Moderate repeatabilities were observed for all behaviours, indicating that individuals exhibit consistent behaviour over time. There were no significant correlations among behaviours. Future research aimed at assessing how changes in social structure impact behavioural repeatability will be valuable for understanding behavioural plasticity in social bat species.

Comparison of regional blood distribution in Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat) during torpor (summer), hibernation (winter), and arousal

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josefine C. Rauch ◽  
David D. Beatty
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Work Load ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Seasonal Differences ◽  
Heart Rates ◽  
Metabolic Heat ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Big Brown Bat ◽  
And Shifts

Regional distribution of blood was determined using 86Rb in torpid (summer), hibernating (winter), and arousing big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus. Heart rates, estimated from electrocardiograms, served as an index of arousal.Measured differences in circulation include higher fractions of the cardiac output being delivered to the myocardium and kidneys of bats in torpor during the summer as compared with those in hibernation during the winter. This suggests a relatively greater work load of the heart and a higher rate of kidney function in bats at low temperatures in summer.Arousal from hibernation in winter (ambient temperature (Ta) = 5 C) requires less time than does arousal from torpor (Ta = 5 C) in summer. Heart rates increase more rapidly and shifts in regional circulation occur at a faster rate during arousal from hibernation. This is related to seasonal differences in amounts of brown fat, the major source of metabolic heat for initiation of rewarming in these bats.

Patterns of daily torpor and day-roost selection by male and female big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus)

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 744-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Hamilton ◽  
Robert M. R. Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Energy Savings ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Daily Torpor ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Big Brown Bats ◽  
Roost Selection ◽  
East End ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Juvenile Development

Daily torpor can provide significant energy savings, but in bats may reduce rates of fetal and juvenile development and spermatogenesis. We examined the use of torpor during the day by male and female big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in the field during the female gestation, lactation, and postlactation periods. While both sexes used torpor, males used it significantly more often and used deeper torpor than did reproductive females, indicating that the costs of torpor are higher for reproductive females. We suggest that by using shallow torpor, females may gain some of the benefits of torpor while minimizing the fitness costs. The different patterns of torpor may be responsible for observed differences in day-roost location amongst males, reproductive females, and nonreproductive females. Males should choose roosts with lower ambient temperatures than do females in order to increase the energy savings of torpor. Males and nonreproductive females roosted away from the maternity colonies more often than did reproductive females. Within one maternity colony, males roosted in the west end of the colony, while females roosted in the east end. These patterns of roosting may be related to how the roost warms during the day.

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