Biological correlates of extinction risk in bats

We investigated patterns and processes of extinction and threat in bats using a multivariate phylogenetic comparative approach. Of nearly 1,000 species worldwide, 239 are considered threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and 12 are extinct. Small geographic ranges and low wing aspect ratios are independently found to predict extinction risk in bats, which explains 48% of the total variance in IUCN assessments of threat. The pattern and correlates of extinction risk in the two bat suborders are significantly different. A higher proportion (4%) of megachiropteran species have gone extinct in the last 500 years than microchiropteran bats (0.3%), and a higher proportion is currently at risk of extinction (Megachiroptera: 34%; Microchiroptera: 22%). While correlates of microchiropteran extinction risk are the same as in the order as a whole, megachiropteran extinction is correlated more with reproductive rate and less with wing morphology. Bat extinction risk is not randomly distributed phylogenetically: closely related species have more similar levels of threat than would be expected if extinction risk were random. Given the unbalanced nature of the evolutionary diversification of bats, it is probable that the amount of phylogenetic diversity lost if currently threatened taxa disappear may be greater than in other clades with numerically more threatened species.     

Lunar phobia in the greater fishing bat Noctilio leporinus (Chiroptera: Noctilionidae)

The nightly activity patterns of Noctilio leporinus, a piscivorous neotropical bat, were documented by visual observation over one lunar cycle at a large dock in Golfito, Costa Rica. The activity patterns were compared to the intensity of the moonlight, and a strong correlation between darkness and activity was observed (n = 776, r2 = 0.96). This correlation has been observed in many species of mammals and may indicate adaptation by potential prey species to avoid predation by visually oriented nighttime predators and/or an adaptation by predators to maximize hunting success.     

Nectarless flowers: ecological correlates and evolutionary stability

In animal-pollinated flowers, the pollinators cannot detect the presence of nectar before entering flowers, and therefore flowers may cheat by not producing nectar. An earlier model suggested that a mixed strategy of producing nectarful and nectarless flowers would be evolutionarily stable. Here we compare nectarless flowers as a cheating strategy with three competing hypotheses namely "visit-more-flowers", "cross-pollination enhancement" and "better contact". We collected field data on 28 species of plants to test some of the differential predictions of the hypotheses. Nectarless flowers were detected in 24 out of 28 plant species. Correlations of percent nectarless flowers with floral and ecological variables support the cheater flower hypothesis. We further model the cost-benefits of cheating and show that an evolutionary stable ratio of nectarless to nectarful flowers can be reached. The equilibrium ratio is mainly decided by factors associated with pollinator density and pollinator learning.     

Hyporheic invertebrates as bioindicators of ecological health in temporary rivers: A meta-analysis

Worldwide, many rivers cease flow and dry either naturally or owing to human activities such as water extraction. However, even when surface water is absent, diverse assemblages of aquatic invertebrates inhabit the saturated sediments below the river bed (hyporheic zone). In the absence of surface water or flow, biota of this zone may be sampled as an alternative to surface water-based ecological assessments. The potential of hyporheic invertebrates as ecological indicators of river health, however, is largely unexplored. We analysed hyporheic taxa lists from the international literature on temporary rivers to assess compositional similarity among broad-scale regions and sampling conditions, including the presence or absence of surface waters and flow, and the regional effect of hydrological phase (dry channel, non-flowing waters, surface flow) on richness. We hypothesised that if consistent patterns were found, then effects of human disturbances in temporary rivers may be assessable using hyporheic bioindicators. Assemblages differed geographically and by climate, but hydrological phase did not have a strong effect at the global scale. However, hyporheic assemblage composition within regions varied along a gradient of higher richness during wetter phases. This indicates that within geographic regions, hyporheic responses to surface drying are predictable and, by extension, hyporheic invertebrates are potentially useful ecological indicators of temporary river health. With many rivers now experiencing, or predicted to experience, lower flows and longer dry phases owing to climate change, the development of ecological assessment methods specific to flow intermittency is a priority. We advocate expanded monitoring of hyporheic zones in temporary rivers and recommend hyporheic invertebrates as potential bioindicators to complement surface water assessments.     

洞穴型蝙蝠的栖息环境选择、生态作用及保护

多数蝙蝠为洞穴型。在野外调查的基础上,结合前人调查的结果,对洞穴型蝙蝠的栖息环境选择及其在洞穴生态系统中的特殊生态作用进行了探讨。针对目前随着人类活动的增加,洞穴型蝙蝠的生存环境遭到日益严重的干扰、破坏和污染而导致蝙蝠的物种多样性降低,加之国内对洞穴型蝙蝠研究不足的现状,提出了加强对洞穴型蝙蝠的栖息和捕食环境进行保护、对蝙蝠的多样性进行调查的建议。     

Progressive pseudogenization: vitamin C synthesis and its loss in bats

For the past 50 years, it was believed that all bats, like humans and guinea pigs, did not synthesize vitamin C (Vc) because they lacked activity of L-gulonolactone oxidase (GULO) in their livers. Humans and guinea pigs lack the activity due to pseudogenization of GULO in their genomes, but there is no genetic evidence to show whether such loss in bats is caused by pseudogenization. Unexpectedly, our successful molecular cloning in one frugivorous bat (Rousettus leschenaultii) and one insectivorous bat (Hipposideros armiger) ascertains that no pseudogenization occurs in these species. Furthermore, we find normal GULO protein expression using bat-specific anti-GULO polyclonal antibodies in bats, evaluated by Western blotting. Most surprisingly, GULO activity assays reveal that these two bat species have retained the ability to synthesize Vc, but at low levels compared with the mouse. It is known that bats in the genus Pteropus have lost GULO activity. We then found that functional constraints acting on the GULO of Pteropus vampyrus (which lost its function) are relaxed. These results imply that the ability to synthesize Vc in bats has not been lost completely in species as previously thought. We also suggest that the evolution of bat GULO genes can be a good model to study genetic processes associated with loss-of-function.     

Morphological correlates of ecological specialization in darters

Synopsis Darters feed on small benthic organisms, primarily insects, and evolutionarily have become increasingly small and benthic; most species are less than 80 mm in standard length. Constraints on decreasing body size include living in midwater and territoriality. Lineages of darters have arisen as new habitats were invaded. Consequently, members of different lineages often vary in characteristics correlated with specific habitat variables. While competition from established taxa undoubtedly has prevented additional habitat invasions, some darters appear to have overcome these barriers through feeding site diversification. Living in various habitats has lead to a variety of reproductive strategies, termed egg-burying, -attaching, -clumping, and -clustering. Sexually selective characteristics, correlated with type of reproductive behavior and habitat, often make the male more conspicuous and therefore are constrained by predation.     

Sexual size dimorphism in northern giant petrels: ecological correlates and scaling

Northern giant petrels ( Macronectes halli ) are among the largest and most sexually size dimorphic species of seabirds, with females being only 80% the mass of males. Both sexes scavenge on seal and penguin carrion in the sub-Antarctic ecosystem, but during the breeding season females also feed extensively on other marine food resources and show more pelagic habits than males. The outstanding sexual segregation in foraging and feeding ecology in northern giant petrels suggests that mechanisms maintaining sexual size dimorphism by ecological factors may be operating. I evaluated this possibility by examining ecological correlates with body size and by static allometry analyses. Fledging sex ratio in four consecutive years did not depart from parity. There was no assortative mating by size neither association between the male size with the breeding performance. By contrast, smaller females raised their chick in better condition. Moreover, bill size showed a size dimorphism beyond that expected by body size dimorphism, i.e. when controlling for body mass, males showed relatively longer bill than females. This trait did not deviate from isometry with respect to body size and its phenotypic variability was low, suggesting that the disproportionately large bill of males is related to their more scavenging life style compared to females. In general, the increase and maintenance of sexual size dimorphism in giant petrels is more consistent with an ecological causation rather than a result of sexual selection.     

Standard energetics of leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideridae): its relationship to intermittent- and protracted-foraging tactics in bats and birds

Basal rates of metabolism within the insectivorous genera Hipposideros and Ascelliscus, Old World leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideridae), ranged from 58% to 77% of the mammalian standard. The larger species, Hipposideros diadema and Hipposideros maggietaylori, effectively thermoregulated at ambient temperatures down to 9 degrees C, whereas two smaller species, Hipposideros galeritus and Hipposideros cervinus, occasionally permitted body temperatures to fall below 32 degrees C. The low basal rates of metabolism in hipposiderids correlated with a predatory life-style characterized by intermittent flight from a perch to capture insects, a correlation similar to that found in nonpasserine birds. Intermittent-foraging bats and nonpasserines collectively had basal rates of metabolism that averaged 75% of those that pursue insects during protracted flight. However, no difference in basal rate was found between protracted- and intermittent-foraging passerines, which had basal rates 1.8- and 2.4-times those of protracted-foraging and intermittent-foraging bats and nonpasserines, respectively. Bats, swifts, and caprimulgids that enter torpor have basal rates that are 85% of those of similar species that do not enter torpor. Body mass, order affiliation, foraging mode, and propensity to enter into torpor collectively account for 97% of the variation in basal rate of metabolism in insectivorous bats and birds. Foraging style therefore appears to be a factor contributing to the diversity in endotherm energetics. Minimal thermal conductance in the genus Hipposideros ranged from 75% to 102% of the mammalian standard. Birds have minimal thermal conductances that are 75% of mammals and intermittent foragers have minimal conductances that are 78% of protracted foragers.     

Socioeconomic and ecological correlates of bobcat harvest in Minnesota

Management of game animals requires understanding of factors that affect harvest levels. Although influenced by international law, bobcat (Lynx rufus) management is the responsibility of state or provincial agencies, and jurisdictional environmental, ecological, and regulatory differences may alter which variables influence harvest. Consequently, our understanding of the factors driving bobcat harvest should be at a scale similar to that at which they are managed. We associated 32 years of bobcat harvest data from Minnesota with socioeconomic (e.g., pelt prices, license sales) and ecological variables (e.g., prey abundance, bobcat-specific index of winter severity) to determine what variables most strongly influenced annual bobcat harvest. We constructed candidate negative binomial generalized linear models based on an information–theoretic approach and used quasi-likelihood Akaike's Information Criterion adjusted for small sample size to assess the relative performance of each model. Our best model suggested that annual bobcat harvest in Minnesota was positively related to the proportion of scent stations visited by bobcats and season length, and negatively related to the proportion of days when the maximum temperature did not exceed the bobcat's lower critical temperature. Our results differ from those of other studies examining factors influencing furbearer harvest that have suggested furbearer harvest is driven primarily by pelt price, and suggest that managers can influence the annual harvest of bobcats by changing season length. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

植冠种子库及其生态意义研究

植冠种子库由成熟的种子宿存在植冠上形成。种子可在植物植冠中存留1～30年或者更长时间。40属木本植物中有1200种植物具有植冠种子库,它们大多分布在火灾易发区和干旱区。植冠种子库是植物繁殖对策的一个方面,具有延缓繁殖体传播、使繁殖体免受捕食、调节萌发时间、将种子降落在适宜位置等生态功能。本文对植冠种子库的概念、分类、具有植冠种子库物种的地理分布、植冠种子库的研究现状及植冠种子库研究中存在的问题进行了论述。应加强对干旱区植冠种子库种子脱落机制和沙漠地区植冠种子库生态意义的研究。     

Behavioural and ecological correlates of natural hybridization in birds

Hybridization and speciation are central to evolutionary biology. Although birds have been studied more thoroughly than any other vertebrate class, there have still been few macro-evolutionary analyses. Here, I present results based on 65 phylogenetically independent hybrid types from the western Palearctic, focusing on behavioural and ecological correlates of hybridization. The main results are as follows. (1) Hybrids that are easier to detect were more often reported. (2) A positive correlation exists between population size (mean of both parent species) and the number of hybrids. After accounting for these confounding variables in a General Linear Model, I found (3) that sympatric species pairs produced fewer hybrids than did parapatric species pairs and (4) pairs with at least one of the parent species reported as endangered produced a greater number of hybrids whereas (5) species pairs with high male parental (paternal) care produced fewer hybrids. Other variables were excluded by a stepwise procedure in the following order: sexual dichromatism; body weight differences; publication bias. Phylogenetic information was available for a small number of hybrids but did not influence the results.     

Bats like dimmer lights: lunar phobia as a luminosity threshold phenomenon on Neotropical bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

acta ethologica - A lunar phobia is a behavioral trait in which the individual alters or ceases its nocturnal activity during periods of strong lunar illumination found throughout the animal...     

Seed size variation: magnitude,distribution, and ecological correlates

Summary We examined seed-mass variation in 39 species (46 populations) of plants in eastern-central Illinois, USA. The coefficient of variation of seed mass commonly exceeded 20%. Significant variation in mean seed mass occurred among conspecific plants in most species sampled (by hierarchical ANOVA), averaging 38% of total variance. For most species, within-plant variation was the larger component of total variance, averaging 62% of total variance. Variation in seed mass among fruits within crops was significant in most species tested.We conclude that variation in seed mass among and within plants is widespread and common. There was little evidence of trade-offs between number of seeds and mean or variance of seed mass, and little correlational evidence of local competition for maternal resources. No consistent ecological (dispersal mode and growth form) correlates of variance of seed mass were evident.     

Energetic cost of hovering flight in nectar-feeding bats (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) and its scaling in moths, birds and bats

Three groups of specialist nectar-feeders covering a continuous size range from insects, birds and bats have evolved the ability for hovering flight. Among birds and bats these groups generally comprise small species, suggesting a relationship between hovering ability and size. In this study we established the scaling relationship of hovering power with body mass for nectar-feeding glossophagine bats (Phyllostomidae). Employing both standard and fast-response respirometry, we determined rates of gas exchange in Hylonycteris underwoodi (7 g) and Choeronycteris mexicana (13–18 g) during hover-feeding flights at an artificial flower that served as a respirometric mask to estimate metabolic power input. The O₂ uptake rate (V˙ _o2) in ml g⁻¹ h⁻¹ (and derived power input) was 27.3 (1.12 W or 160 W kg⁻¹) in 7-g Hylonycteris and 27.3 (2.63 W or 160 W kg⁻¹) in 16.5-g Choeronycteris and thus consistent with measurements in 11.9-g Glossophagasoricina (158 W kg⁻¹, Winter 1998). V˙ _o2 at the onset of hovering was also used to estimate power during forward flight, because after a transition from level forward to hovering flight gas exchange rates initially still reflect forward flight rates. V˙ _o2 during short hovering events (<1.5 s) was 19.0 ml g⁻¹ h⁻¹ (1.8 W) in 16-g Choeronycteris, which was not significantly different from a previous, indirect estimate of the cost of level forward flight (2.1 W, Winter and von Helversen 1998). Our estimates suggest that power input during hovering flight P _h (W) increased with body mass M (kg) within 13–18-g Choeronycteris (n = 4) as P _h  = 3544 (±2057 SE) M ^{1.76 (±0.21 SE)} and between different glossophagine bat species (n = 3) as P _h  = 128 (±2.4 SE) M ^{0.95 (±0.034 SE)}. The slopes of three scaling functions for flight power (hovering, level forward flight at intermediate speed and submaximal flight power) indicate that: 1. The relationship between flight power to flight speed may change with body mass in the 6–30-g bats from a J- towards a U-shaped curve. 2. A metabolic constraint (hovering flight power equal maximal flight power) may influence the upper size limit of 30–35 g for this group of flower specialists. Mass-specific power input (W kg⁻¹) during hovering flight appeared constant with regard to body size (for the mass ranges considered), but differed significantly (P < 0.001) between groups. Group means were 393 W kg⁻¹ (sphingid moths), 261 W kg⁻¹ (hummingbirds) and 159 W kg⁻¹ (glossophagine bats). Thus, glossophagine bats expend the least metabolic power per unit of body mass supported during hovering flight. At a metabolic power input of 1.1 W a glossophagine bat can generate the lift forces necessary for balancing 7 g against gravitation, whereas a hummingbird can support 4 g and a sphingid moth only 3 g of body mass with the same amount of metabolic energy. These differences in power input were not fully explained by differences in induced power output estimated from Rankine-Froude momentum-jet theory. Accepted: 10 November 1998     

Range size and its ecological correlates among the pteridophytes of Carrasco National Park, Bolivia

Aim To identify the factors determining the range size of pteridophytes (ferns and allied plants) in an Andean region. Location Humid eastern Andean slope in Carrasco National Park, Bolivia. Methods I used a macroecological approach to search for correlations of range size to elevation, habitat type, life form, reproductive strategy, the species’ elevational range, and its frequency, among the 473 pteridophyte species recorded in the park. Results Range sizes were smallest at 1800–3500 m elevation and in localized habitats with little disturbance (ravines, ridges), while regularly disturbed habitats (pastures, roadsides) supported widespread species. Families and genera differed with respect to the range sizes of their species, but this pattern was not correlated to any other studied factor and could not be explained. Species with restricted ranges tended to be more frequent in the study area than widespread species. Widespread species tended to have large elevational ranges, implying that they are ecologically more adaptable than localized species. There was no relationship of range size to life form or to the studied reproductive aspects (sexual vs. asexual reproduction, chlorophyllous vs. achlorophyllous spores). Conclusions The above trends were mostly uncorrelated and explained a rather small portion of the observed range size variance. Thus, it is not yet possible to draw a cohesive picture of the factors determining pteridophyte range size. Intriguing questions for future research include the relationship of range size to dispersal, competitive ability, and taxonomic affinity.     

The evolution of jumping performance in anurans: morphological correlates and ecological implications

We investigated the evolution of anuran locomotor performance and its morphological correlates as a function of habitat use and lifestyles. We reanalysed a subset of the data reported by Zug (Smithson. Contrib. Zool. 1978; 276: 1–31) employing phylogenetically explicit statistical methods (n = 56 species), and assembled morphological data on the ratio between hind-limb length and snout-vent length (SVL) from the literature and museum specimens for a large subgroup of the species from the original paper (n = 43 species). Analyses using independent contrasts revealed that classifying anurans into terrestrial, semi-aquatic, and arboreal categories cannot distinguish between the effects of phylogeny and ecological diversification in anuran locomotor performance. However, a more refined classification subdividing terrestrial species into 'fossorials' and 'non-fossorials', and arboreal species into 'open canopy', 'low canopy' and 'high canopy', suggests that part of the variation in locomotor performance and in hind-limb morphology can be attributed to ecological diversification. In particular, fossorial species had significantly lower jumping performances and shorter hind limbs than other species after controlling for SVL, illustrating how the trade-off between burrowing efficiency and jumping performance has resulted in morphological specialization in this group.