DNA fingerprinting provides evidence of discriminate suckling and non‐random mating in little brown bats <i>Myotis lucifugus</i>

Watt, Edward; Fenton, M. Brock

doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.1995.tb00217.x

Cited by 38 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…About 80% of bats captured at swarming sites are males (Parsons et al 2002;Rivers et al in press), suggesting intense competition for mates. There is some evidence to show that mating is skewed in favour of a smaller group of males (Watt & Fenton 1995). The sex ratio probably reflects behavioural differences between the sexes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex and segregation in temperate bats

2005

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Many temperate insectivorous bats show marked sexual segregation during the summer, but in spectacular, pre-hibernation swarming, gather at caves to mate. In many species, sexual segregation is probably due to a gradient in aerial insect availability that confines females to lower elevations, where high reproductive costs are met by an abundant and reliable food supply. In the hawking and trawling Myotis daubentonii, we show that alongside inter-sexual segregation, there is intra-male segregation and suggest that this results from the exclusion of most males from high-quality habitat. These apparently excluded males suffer reduced foraging efficiency and mating success relative to males that roost with the females in summer. Changes in resources and behaviour at the end of the summer lead to a change in strategy that gives all males a chance to mate during swarming, but this does not overcome the paternity advantage to males that spend the summer with the females.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex and segregation in temperate bats

2005

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“…However, there could be some female choice, for example through vocal flight displays or chasing. Watt and Fenton (1995) found reproductive success to be slightly skewed in swarming Myotis lucifugus. Swarming P. auritus males roost significantly closer to swarming sites than females and in the spring (the last phase of swarming in P. auritus) visit underground sites more often than females (Furmankiewicz 2004, in prep.…”

Section: Skewed Mating Successmentioning

confidence: 95%

Genetic structure in a swarming brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus) population: evidence for mating at swarming sites

Furmankiewicz

Altringham

2006

Conserv Genet

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Plecotus auritus, a small, gleaning bat species, lives in small, isolated summer colonies in which both males and females show a high degree of natal philopatry. Despite this, colonies have high gene diversities and low inbreeding coefficients. It has been suggested that inbreeding is avoided because mating occurs during autumnal and spring swarming at hibernation sites. We tested this hypothesis by comparing microsatellite profiles, based on eight loci, of bats from six summer colonies and two swarming sites they were known to visit from radiotelemetry studies. We found high gene diversities (H s = 0.77) at both swarming sites and summer colonies which were not statistically different. There was no detectable isolation by distance and F ST was low (0.001). Together, these results suggest high gene flow between sites. Despite this, there was small but significant genetic differentiation amongst summer colonies and between summer colonies and the primary swarming site. We suggest that swarming is important for gene flow and for maintaining genetic diversity in this highly philopatric species and discuss possible reasons for the genetic differentiation observed. The identification and protection of swarming sites should be a major conservation priority for this and other temperate bat species.

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“…Furthermore, lack of clear mating order effects may be expected since female mammals do not usually store sperm (Birkhead & Hunter, 1990). As yet, however, there have been no studies of mating order effects in sperm storing bats, although limited data tentatively suggest paternity may be skewed towards certain males or male lineages in the little brown bat (Watt & Fenton, 1995), a species with promiscuous mating habits (Thomas, Fenton & Barclay, 1979). In addition, while female sperm storage has been documented in more than 30 bat species (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Sperm fertility and skewed paternity during sperm competition in the Australian long‐eared bat Nyctophilus geoffroyi (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

Hosken

1998

Journal of Zoology

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Prolonged sperm storage, rare among mammals, is widespread among bats and may promote sperm competition, assuming stored sperm are fertile. However, while sperm storage has been documented in many bat species, there have been few investigations of the fertility of stored sperm. Related to this, and a fundamental question in the study of competition at the gametic level, is the effect of mating order on success during sperm competition. For mammals there are no clear mating order effects, in part because females do not store sperm for prolonged periods, but there have been no investigations of mating order effects during sperm competition in sperm-storing bats. I report here on a study designed to investigate the fertility of stored sperm and the effects of mating order on success during sperm competition in a captive colony of Australian long-eared bats Nyctophilus geoffroyi (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Bats were housed in outdoor¯ight-cages, under natural light and temperature regimes. Females were housed serially with two males and were separated from them at intervals throughout the year. Blood plasma progesterone concentrations, measured using double antibody radioimmunoassay, were monitored to assess the duration of sperm storage. Paternity of offspring was assessed using genetic markers identi®ed using gel electrophoresis of blood enzymes.Blood plasma progesterone concentrations were basal from early autumn till mid-late winter, increased markedly during pregnancy, and generally fell back to basal 5±6 weeks post-partum. Data indicated that females could store fertile sperm for more than 90 days, while sperm stored by males were fertile after 4±5 months' storage. Paternity was signi®cantly biased toward one male which fathered all offspring. Results are discussed in the context of sperm competition.

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DNA fingerprinting provides evidence of discriminate suckling and non‐random mating in little brown bats Myotis lucifugus

Cited by 38 publications

References 23 publications

Sex and segregation in temperate bats

Sex and segregation in temperate bats

Genetic structure in a swarming brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus) population: evidence for mating at swarming sites

Sperm fertility and skewed paternity during sperm competition in the Australian long‐eared bat Nyctophilus geoffroyi (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

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