Flock Foraging in Nectar-Feeding Bats: Advantages to the Bats and to the Host Plants
Howell DJ. 1979. Flock Foraging in Nectar-Feeding Bats: Advantages to the Bats and to the Host Plants. The American Naturalist. 114(1):23-49
Advantages of conspecific associations are discussed for pollinating bats and their host plants. Bats forage in cohesive, but structureless, flocks which search more efficiently and exploit plant patches more thoroughly than would individuals. Communal feeding allows intermittent communal roosting which affords more efficient digestion. By following 'lead' bats to new plants without individually confirming resource depletion, all bats save energy. There is also a savings in echolocation energy since only leading bats use sonar. Caloric allotments to various activities are presented. Leptonycteris uses a disproportionate amount of energy in a short foraging period. Individual foraging energetics depend on characteristics of the flock. A model is given for the determination of maximum flock size. Symbiont agaves ensure pollen transfer by steeply declining nocturnal nectar flow. The evolution of the association is discussed, with speculations on advantages of grouping for bats and plants prior to mutualistic interactions. The flexibility in the system is mentioned as a safety factor reducing the destabilizing effect of one-to-one obligate interactions.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Howell, D
- Units
- SODN
- Keywords
- Bats, Behavior, Chordata (mammals), Ecology (Animal), Ecology (Community Ecology), Ecology (Plant), Foraging, nectar-feeding, Plants, Zoology