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Landscape Movements by Two Species of Migratory Nectar-Feeding Bats (Leptonycteris) in a Northern Area of Seasonal Sympatry
- Source :
- Western North American Naturalist. 77:317-330
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Western North American Naturalist, 2017.
-
Abstract
- Animals often migrate to exploit seasonally ephemeral food. Three species of nectar-feeding phyllostomid bats migrate north from Mexico into deserts of the United States each spring and summer to feed on blooms of columnar cactus and century plants (Agave spp.). However, the habitat needs of these important desert pollinators are poorly understood. We followed the nighttime movements of 2 species of long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae and L. nivalis) in an area of late-summer sympatry at the northern edges of their migratory ranges. We radio-tracked bats in extreme southwestern New Mexico during 22 nights over 2 summers and acquired location estimates for 31 individuals. Both species cohabitated 2 major day roosts that were 30 km apart and in different mountain ranges, and individual bats sometimes moved between the roosts. Sampling was opportunistic and limited, but there were no obvious qualitative differences in observed patterns of movement between species or years, or among sex, age, and reproductive groups. Both species were observed foraging most often in the mountain range that had a relatively higher observed density of presumed food plants (Agave palmeri); when roosting in an adjacent mountain range, bats sometimes commuted >20 km one way to forage. Contrary to evidence indicating these species partition resources farther south in Mexico, our findings suggest that L. yerbabuenae and L. nivalis seasonally share common roost and food resources during late summer in this northern area of sympatry.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Sympatry
Agave palmeri
Forage (honey bee)
Ecology
biology
010604 marine biology & hydrobiology
Foraging
biology.organism_classification
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Geography
Habitat
Pollinator
Nectar
Leptonycteris
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19448341 and 15270904
- Volume :
- 77
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Western North American Naturalist
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........daf5e0dfa6e1596e3e3bfa7593f87f70