Diet of arthropodophagous bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) from Northwestern Argentina

Abstract

The diet of arthropodophagous bats can be infl uenced by several factors.Furthermore, its study is critical for understanding their role in the ecosystem as regulators of arthropod abundance. The aim of this study was to analyze the diet of 12 species beloging to two families of arthropodophagous bats from the Yungas Forests, Northwestern Argentina. We also evaluated differences in diet between well-preserved and disturbed sites, sexes, and seasons. The specimens were collected with mist nets in eight different localities, four well-preserved and four disturbed sites of the Yungas Forests. Through the analysis of feces, arthropod remains were identifi ed until the lowest possible taxonomic level. Volume and frequency of occurrence percentages for each food item and the niche breadth for the species were estimated. A total of 475 samples from 12 species were analyzed and their diet contained arthropods from eight orders and seven families; the highest number of consumed arthropod orders were registered for Eptesicus diminutus. A low niche breadth was recorded in general for all species. The diet was signifi cantly infl uenced by season and site characteristics only in E. diminutus and E. furinalis, respectively. This showed that bats could modify its diet according to the different habitats and seasons.

Lasiurus villosissimus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

“…(Orthoptera: Cryllidae—Whitaker and McCracken 2001). In northwestern Argentina, Bracamonte (2013) analyzed the feces of a specimen of L. villosissimus and only the order Lepidoptera was found; subsequently, Gamboa Alurralde and Díaz (2021) analyzed the feces of two specimens and found insects of the orders Hemiptera (undetermined), Homoptera (Fulgoromorpha), and Lepidoptera (undetermined). Samples of two specimens analyzed from Argentine Patagonia contained 60% Lepidoptera and 37.5% Coleoptera; Diptera (2.5%) was present in only one sample (Giménez et al 2021).…”