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The coexistence of two frugivorous bat species and the phenology of their food plants in Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Jader S. Marinho-Filho
Jader S. Marinho-Filho
Affiliation:
Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13081 Campinas SP, Brazil
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Abstract

Carollia perspicillata and Sturnira lilium are two species of abundant and widely distributed phyllostomid bats. Both are frugivorous and frequently found coexisting in the same areas. A study on feeding habits and morphology of C. perspicillata and S. lilium was conducted at Serra do Japi, Sấo Paulo, south-eastern Brazil, investigating the mechanisms associated with their coexistence. The two species are fairly similar in morphology and feeding habits. Analysis of faeces produced by captured bats revealed that there is a significant difference in diet between the two species. C. perspicillata tends to specialize in fruits of the genus Piper and S. lilium specializes in Solarium fruits. The fruiting periods of the four species of Piper eaten by bats at the study site are successive, with little overlap and high productivity. The species of Solarium have long and overlapping fruiting periods, with very low productivity. Piper and Solarium provide food resources almost all year, allowing the food specialization that may be an important mechanism of resource partitioning between C. perspicillata and S. lilium.

Keywords

Brazilcoexistencecompetitionfruiting phenologyNeotropicsPiperPhyllostomidaeSolatium
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , February 1991 , pp. 59 - 67
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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