Endotherm homeotherms deal with the energetic cost of maintaining a stable body temperature (Tb) in ecosystems differing in ambient temperature (Ta). In response, animals adjust some of their thermal energetics to meet the energy requirements of thermoregulation. Bats are small mammals with a geographical distribution that may include environments with different Ta. Therefore, these animals should adjust their thermal energetics depending on the environmental characteristics of the habitats where they live. Using open-flow respirometry, we measured basal metabolic rate (BMR), thermal conductance (C’), lower and upper critical temperatures (TLC and TUC), and breadth of the thermoneutral zone (TNZb) of the cave myotis (Myotis velifer (Allen, 1890)) living in a coniferous forest versus a tropical deciduous forest in central Mexico. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to measure thermal energetics at the intraspecific level in populations measured at the same time. Bats from the coniferous forest had lower BMR, C’, TLC, TUC, and a wider TNZb than bats from the tropical deciduous forest. The results we found here are likely the consequence of the differences between the energy demands imposed by Ta where the animals roost, and the Ta and prey availability of their foraging areas. These differences may help individuals regulate their heat production and dissipation to maintain low thermoregulatory costs in the places they inhabit.
La dispersión de semillas es esencial para una gran cantidad de plantas, de manera que estas puedan colonizar nuevos sitios. Entre los dispersores, los murciélagos frugívoros han sido considerados esenciales para el funcionamiento del ecosistema. Aunque el papel de los murciélagos como dispersores de semillas ha sido ampliamente probado, muchas de las interacciones mutualistas entre las plantas y los murciélagos frugívoros aún se desconocen y se ha proporcionado poca evidencia directa de la dispersión de semillas. Como parte de un monitoreo continuo que hemos realizado en la Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra de Huautla, encontramos una pequeña colonia de Artibeus jamaicensis descansando en una cueva cerca de una serie de cultivos utilizados por la población local para producir alimento. En el interior de la cueva encontramos una gran cantidad de cotiledones de Microdesmia arborea (Chrysobalanaceae) en crecimiento, justo debajo de los lugares de descanso utilizados por los murciélagos. Estos cotiledones germinaron a partir de las semillas de los frutos de los que se alimentaron los individuos de A. jamaicensis. Hasta donde sabemos, este es el primer registro que reporta la asociación entre A. jamaicensis y M. arborea. Los cotiledones en crecimiento que encontramos demuestran la importancia de A. jamaicensis para la dispersión y germinación de ciertas especies de plantas, incluso en condiciones desfavorables como el interior de cuevas. De acuerdo con la legislación mexicana, M. arborea se encuentra catalogada como amenazada, por lo que la dispersión de sus semillas por parte de los murciélagos puede ser de vital importancia para su conservación. La dispersión de semillas tiene una gran importancia en un ambiente rodeado de cultivos, donde la regeneración forestal debe desempeñar un papel fundamental en el mantenimiento de la vegetación natural.
Most animals face changes in the availability of food and the environmental conditions in the places where they live. In response, they need to adjust their behavioral, physiological, and morphological traits. In temperate zones and high latitudes, bats increase their body mass (M b ) in autumn to store fat reserves and use them during hibernation. However, other small mammals decrease their M b prior to winter to reduce the energetic requirements of individuals. These changes are unknown for bats inhabiting other highly energetic demanding environments. We measured changes in M b of 84 non-reproductive males of Eptesicus fuscus inhabiting a tropical montane ecosystem in central Mexico over seasons. We also examined the relationship of bats’ M b with the minimum ambient temperature (T a , °C) and mean precipitation (mm). Bats presented an increase in M b from March to June, followed by a decrease from September to November and presented the lowest M b from November to March, in the dry-cold season. The results suggest that the pattern of changes in M b could be the result of two non-exclusive components related to the bats’ energy budget, the energetic demands experienced by the bats throughout the year and the morphological adaptations animals could display to reduce their energy requirements during the winter.
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