| migration and evolution of lesser long-nosed bats leptonycteris curasoae, inferred from mitochondrial dna. | we used sequence variation within 297 bp of control region mitochondrial dna (mtdna) amplified from 53 lesser long-nosed bats, leptonycteris curasoae (phyllostomidae: glossophaginae) captured at 13 locations in south-western united states and mexico and one site in venezuela to infer population structure and possible migration routes of this endangered nectar- and fruit-eating species. phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony and upgma confirmed species and subspecies distinctions within le ... | 1996 | 8688955 |
| using a probabilistic approach in an ecological risk assessment simulation tool: test case for depleted uranium (du). | a probabilistic approach was applied in an ecological risk assessment (era) to characterize risk and address uncertainty employing monte carlo simulations for assessing parameter and risk probabilistic distributions. this simulation tool (era) includes a window's based interface, an interactive and modifiable database management system (dbms) that addresses a food web at trophic levels, and a comprehensive evaluation of exposure pathways. to illustrate this model, ecological risks from depleted ... | 2005 | 15910910 |
| seasonal sebaceous patch in the nectar-feeding bats leptonycteris curasoae and l. yerbabuenae (phyllostomidae: glossophaginae): phenological, histological, and preliminary chemical characterization. | many species of bats secrete a wide variety of substances, frequently associated with olfactory communication. we characterized a seasonal phenomenon of dorsal sebaceous secretion in the curaçaoan long-nosed bat, leptonycteris curasoae, in venezuela, and the lesser long-nosed bat, leptonycteris yerbabuenae, in mexico. the phenology of the sebaceous patch was determined, a histological analysis of the affected area was conducted using specimens of l. curasoae from venezuela, and finally, a prelim ... | 2008 | 18602804 |
| insectivorous bat pollinates columnar cactus more effectively per visit than specialized nectar bat. | plant-pollinator interactions are great model systems to investigate mutualistic relationships. we compared pollinator effectiveness between facultative and obligate nectar-feeding bats to determine how foraging specialization influences mutualistic interactions in a bat-adapted cactus. we predicted that a specialized nectarivorous bat would deliver more pollen than an opportunistic nectar-feeding bat because of specialized adaptations to nectar feeding that indicate close association with their ... | 2013 | 23234851 |
| effect of habitat disturbance on pollination biology of the columnar cactus stenocereus quevedonis at landscape-level in central mexico. | stenocereus quevedonis ('pitire') is a columnar cactus endemic to central mexico, grown for its edible fruit. phenology, pollination biology and behaviour of flower visitors of this species were compared in six conserved and disturbed sites, hypothesising that: (i) pitire pollination is self-incompatible, requiring animal vectors; (ii) higher incidence of radiation on plants in cleared forest may lead to a higher number of flowers per pitire plant and longer blooming season, and disturbing and d ... | 2013 | 23016649 |
| aerodynamic flight performance in flap-gliding birds and bats. | many birds use a flight mode called undulating or flap-gliding flight, where they alternate between flapping and gliding phases, while only a few bats make use of such a flight mode. among birds, flap-gliding is commonly used by medium to large species, where it is regarded to have a lower energetic cost than continuously flapping flight. here, we introduce a novel model for estimating the energetic flight economy of flap-gliding animals, by determining the lift-to-drag ratio for flap-gliding ba ... | 2012 | 22726811 |
| phyllostomid bat microbiome composition is associated to host phylogeny and feeding strategies. | the members of the phyllostomidae, the new-world leaf-nosed family of bats, show a remarkable evolutionary diversification of dietary strategies including insectivory, as the ancestral trait, followed by appearance of carnivory and plant-based diets such as nectarivory and frugivory. here we explore the microbiome composition of different feeding specialists: insectivore macrotus waterhousii, sanguivore desmodus rotundus, nectarivores leptonycteris yerbabuenae and glossophaga soricina, and frugi ... | 2015 | 26042099 |
| a physiological perspective on nectar-feeding adaptation in phyllostomid bats. | nectar-feeding animals increase their food intake when nectar sugar concentration decreases. however, some species present physiological constraints that limit their energy intake when nectar is diluted. we hypothesized that gut capacities of bats affect the ability of these animals to acquire and store energy, modifying how they use food resources in the field. we measured the food intake and changes in body mass of the members of an assemblage of nectar-feeding bats (choeronycteris mexicana, l ... | 2011 | 21897083 |
| effect of diet quality and ambient temperature on the use of torpor by two species of neotropical nectar-feeding bats. | neotropical bats use torpor as a strategy to save energy when they experience a low energy intake and/or low ambient temperature (ta). digestive physiology limits the energy intake of several glossophaginid bats, and could play an important role in the onset of torpor in these tropical animals. we measured the effect that diet quality and ta had on the use of torpor by the nectar-feeding bats glossophaga soricina and leptonycteris yerbabuenae captive bats were fed with 5% (low) or 35% (high) suc ... | 2017 | 28250178 |
| sugar gustatory thresholds and sugar selection in two species of neotropical nectar-eating bats. | nectar-feeding bats play an important role in natural communities acting as pollinators; however, the characteristics that affect their food selection are unclear. here we explore the role that sugar gustatory thresholds and sugar concentration play on sugar selection of glossophaga soricina and leptonycteris yerbabuenae. we offered bats paired feeders containing sugar solutions of sucrose (s), glucose (g) or fructose (f) vs. pure water, and sucrose vs. 1:1 equicaloric solutions of glucose-fruct ... | 2013 | 23085289 |
| morphological specialization influences nectar extraction efficiency of sympatric nectar-feeding bats. | mammals frequently use nectar as a supplementary food, while a predominantly nectarivorous lifestyle with morphological specializations for this feeding mode is rare within the class. however, neotropical flower-visiting bats largely depend on nectar resources and show distinct adaptations to a nectar diet. glossophagine bats form local guilds of 2-6 species that may differ distinctly in skull morphology. it is still unknown how and to what extent this morphological diversity influences the effi ... | 2012 | 22899529 |
| relationship between spatial working memory performance and diet specialization in two sympatric nectar bats. | behavioural ecologists increasingly recognise spatial memory as one the most influential cognitive traits involved in evolutionary processes. in particular, spatial working memory (swm), i.e. the ability of animals to store temporarily useful information for current foraging tasks, determines the foraging efficiency of individuals. as a consequence, swm also has the potential to influence competitive abilities and to affect patterns of sympatric occurrence among closely related species. the pres ... | 2011 | 21931612 |
| foraging behavior adjustments related to changes in nectar sugar concentration in phyllostomid bats. | nectar-feeding bats regulate their food ingestion in response to changes in sugar concentration as a way to achieve a constant energy intake. however, their digestive capability to assimilate sugars can limit their total energy intake, particularly when sugar concentration in nectar is low. our experimental study evaluated the effect that changes in sugar concentration of nectar have on the foraging behavior of the nectar-feeding bats glossophaga soricina and leptonycteris yerbabuenae in captivi ... | 2011 | 21664982 |
| digestive capacities allow the mexican long-nosed bat (leptonycteris nivalis) to live in cold environments. | digestive capabilities of nectar-feeding vertebrates to assimilate sugars affect their ability to acquire and store energy and could determine the minimal temperatures at which these animals can survive. here, we described the sugar digestive capability of leptonycteris nivalis and related it with its capacity to live in cold environments. we measured the enzymatic activity, food intake rate and changes in body mass of bats feeding at four different sucrose concentrations (from 5 to 35% wt./vol. ... | 2013 | 23370293 |
| finding flowers in the dark: nectar-feeding bats integrate olfaction and echolocation while foraging for nectar. | nectar-feeding bats depend mainly on floral nectar to fulfil their energetic requirements. chiropterophilous flowers generally present strong floral scents and provide conspicuous acoustic echoes to attract bats. while floral scents are assumed to attract bats over long distances, acoustic properties of flower structures may provide detailed information, thus supporting the localization of a flower at close ranges. so far, to our knowledge, there is no study trying to understand the relative imp ... | 2016 | 27853595 |
| how nectar-feeding bats localize their food: echolocation behavior of leptonycteris yerbabuenae approaching cactus flowers. | nectar-feeding bats show morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations for feeding on nectar. how they find and localize flowers is still poorly understood. while scent cues alone allow no precise localization of a floral target, the spatial properties of flower echoes are very precise and could play a major role, particularly at close range. the aim of this study is to understand the role of echolocation for classification and localization of flowers. we compared the approach behavio ... | 2017 | 27684373 |
| intestinal paracellular absorption is necessary to support the sugar oxidation cascade in nectarivorous bats. | we made the first measurements of the capacity for paracellular nutrient absorption in intact nectarivorous bats. leptonycteris yerbabuenae (20 g mass) were injected with or fed inert carbohydrate probes l-rhamnose and d(+)-cellobiose, which are absorbed exclusively by the paracellular route, and 3-o-methyl-d-glucose (3omd-glucose), which is absorbed both paracellularly and transcellularly. using a standard pharmacokinetic technique, we collected blood samples for 2 h after probe administration. ... | 2016 | 26985050 |
| the wake of hovering flight in bats. | hovering means stationary flight at zero net forward speed, which can be achieved by animals through muscle powered flapping flight. small bats capable of hovering typically do so with a downstroke in an inclined stroke plane, and with an aerodynamically active outer wing during the upstroke. the magnitude and time history of aerodynamic forces should be reflected by vorticity shed into the wake. we thus expect hovering bats to generate a characteristic wake, but this has until now never been st ... | 2015 | 26179990 |
| leading edge vortices in lesser long-nosed bats occurring at slow but not fast flight speeds. | slow and hovering animal flight creates high demands on the lift production of animal wings. steady state aerodynamics is unable to explain the forces required and the most commonly used mechanism to enhance the lift production is a leading edge vortex (lev). although levs increase the lift, they come at the cost of high drag. here we determine the flow above the wing of lesser long-nosed bats at slow and cruising speed using particle image velocimetry (piv). we find that a prominent lev is pres ... | 2014 | 24855067 |
| new distribution and host records for hectopsylla pulex haller (siphonaptera, tungidae) with notes on biology and morphology. | hectopsylla pulex haller is documented for the first time from cochise county, arizona on the lesser long-nosed bat, leptonycteris yerbabuenae martinez and villa (phyllostomidae). this represents the first record of this flea on this chiropteran family. the most favorable site of attachment of h. pulex appears to be the head, particularly the ears and tragus. the potential interference of echolocation caused by flea attachment at or near the tragus is discussed in addition to host preferences an ... | 2014 | 24715770 |
| kinematics and wing shape across flight speed in the bat, leptonycteris yerbabuenae. | the morphology and kinematics of a flying animal determines the resulting aerodynamic lift through the regulation of the speed of the air moving across the wing, the wing area and the lift coefficient. we studied the detailed three-dimensional wingbeat kinematics of the bat, leptonycteris yerbabuenae, flying in a wind tunnel over a range of flight speeds (0-7 m/s), to determine how factors affecting the lift production vary across flight speed and within wingbeats. we found that the wing area, t ... | 2012 | 23259057 |
| pollination biology of two chiropterophilous agaves in arizona. | i studied the pollination biology of two closely related species of agave, agave palmeri and a. chrysantha (agavaceae), which exhibit several chiropterophilous (bat-pollinated) traits. floral studies, floral visitor observations, and pollination studies were conducted over four summers at six different sites to examine floral traits and determine the relative importance of diurnal vs. nocturnal pollinators. agave chrysantha appears to have developed minor shifts in several floral characters that ... | 2000 | 10860913 |
| genomic consequences of dietary diversification and parallel evolution due to nectarivory in leaf-nosed bats. | the new world leaf-nosed bats (phyllostomids) exhibit a diverse spectrum of feeding habits and innovations in their nutrient acquisition and foraging mechanisms. however, the genomic signatures associated with their distinct diets are unknown. | 2020 | 32510151 |
| ornithodoros dyeri (parasitiformes: ixodida: argasidae) parasitizing leptonycteris yerbabuenae (chiroptera: phyllostomidae) in mexico. | parasites are a selective force that shape communities and ecosystems. hosts represent a food source, habitat, and a way to disperse. in recent years, investigations dealing with bats and their role as hosts to numerous parasitic organisms, including metazoan ectoparasites and endoparasites have increased, and soft ticks (parasitiformes: ixodida: argasidae) are among the best known. in mexico, 16 species of soft ticks associated with bats have been reported up to now, but there are no specific r ... | 2020 | 32993934 |
| adaptive evolution of c-type lysozyme in vampire bats. | in mammals, chicken-type (c-type) lysozymes are part of the innate immune system, killing bacteria by degrading peptidoglycan in their cell walls. many of the studies on the evolution of c-type lysozymes have focused on its new digestive function, including the duplicated stomach lysozymes in ruminants. similarly, in bats, gene duplications and subsequent adaptive evolution of c-type lysozyme have been reported in a clade of insectivorous species, which might have been driven by the need to dige ... | 2019 | 31506780 |
| reinforcement learning enables resource partitioning in foraging bats. | every evening, from late spring to mid-summer, tens of thousands of hungry lactating female lesser long-nosed bats (leptonycteris yerbabuenae) emerge from their roost and navigate over the sonoran desert, seeking for nectar and pollen [1, 2]. the bats roost in a huge maternal colony that is far from the foraging grounds but allows their pups to thermoregulate [3] while the mothers are foraging. thus, the mothers have to fly tens of kilometers to the foraging sites-fields with thousands of saguar ... | 2020 | 32822610 |
| discrimination of small sugar concentration differences helps the nectar-feeding bat leptonycteris yerbabuenae cover energetic demands. | every day nectar-feeding animals face an energetic challenge during foraging: they must locate and select flowers that provide nectar with adequate amounts of sugar to cover their very high energy needs. to understand this decision-making process, it is crucial to know how accurately sugar concentration differences can be discriminated. in a controlled laboratory setting, we offered the nectar-specialist bat leptonycteris yerbabuenae the choice between different sugar solutions covering the enti ... | 2020 | 32816960 |
| geographical separation and physiology drive differentiation of microbial communities of two discrete populations of the bat leptonycteris yerbabuenae. | in this paper, we explore how two discrete and geographically separated populations of the lesser long-nosed bat (leptonycteris yerbabuenae)-one in central and the other in the pacific region of mexico-differ in their fecal microbiota composition. considering the microbiota-host as a unity, in which extrinsic (as food availability and geography) or intrinsic factors (as physiology) play an important role in the microbiota composition, we would expect differentiation in the microbiota of two geog ... | 2020 | 32181589 |
| microbiota composition of the dorsal patch of reproductive male leptonycteris yerbabuenae. | bacteria and other types of microbes interact with their hosts in several ways, including metabolic pathways, development, and complex behavioral processes such as mate recognition. during the mating season, adult males of the lesser long-nosed agave pollinator bat leptonycteris yerbabuenae (phyllostomidae: glossophaginae) develop a structure called the dorsal patch, which is located in the interscapular region and may play a role in kin recognition and mate selection. using high-throughput sequ ... | 2019 | 31841551 |
| fecal microbiota of different reproductive stages of the central population of the lesser-long nosed bat, leptonycteris yerbabuenae. | in this study we analyzed the microbiota composition of fecal samples from the lesser-long nosed bat leptonycteris yerbabuenae in different reproductive stages (juveniles and adult bats of both sexes as well as pregnant and lactating females). the v4 region of the 16s rrna gene from 33 individuals was analyzed using alpha and beta diversity metrics. we found that microbiota diversity (expressed in amplicon sequence variants) is higher in pregnant and lactating females. the microbiota of the juve ... | 2019 | 31318946 |
| seasonal ecology of a migratory nectar-feeding bat at the edge of its range. | migratory species that cross geopolitical boundaries pose challenges for conservation planning because threats may vary across a species' range and multi-country collaboration is required to implement conservation action plans. the lesser long-nosed bat (leptonycteris yerbabuenae) is a migratory pollinator bat that was removed from the endangered species list in the united states in 2018 and from threatened status in mexico in 2013. the seasonal ecology and conservation status of the species is ... | 2018 | 30323407 |