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When do Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) fly far for dinner?

2010; NRC Research Press; Volume: 88; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1139/z10-085

1480-3283

Jorge A. Encarnação, Nina I. Becker, Klemens Ekschmitt,

Marine animal studies overview

This study investigates the factors driving foraging behavior of Daubenton’s bats ( Myotis daubentonii (Kuhl, 1817)). We analysed the importance of food availability, energy demand, and intraspecific competition in regulating foraging activity and the selection of near versus distant foraging sites. At two foraging patches, insect abundance, foraging activity, and the number of foraging individuals were monitored using sticky traps, telemetry, spotlight counting, and light sticks. Population size was determined by flight path counting. General linear model analysis showed that bat distribution among foraging patches was influenced by distance to roosts, month, bat population size, and the displacement pressure exerted by competing individuals. Foraging time was influenced by food resource accessibility and individual cost/benefit ratio. From June to August, population density, intraspecific competition in foraging patches, and transfer flights between patches and day roosts were most frequent (play-off time). Our results suggest that differences in foraging activity of Daubenton’s bats are mainly driven by differential energy demand and less so by food availability. In times of high energy demand, hunting is avoided when prey are scarce. During play-off time, density spillover in near foraging patches occurs and therefore more distant patches come into use in accordance with predictions by the ideal free distribution theory.