Abstract:The State Park Mata dos Godoy has 42 identified bat species, among which 21 are frugivorous and belong to the Phyllostomidae family. Current study investigated the concentrations of carbohydrate, lipid and protein in fruits consumed by Artibeus lituratus, Carollia perspicillata and Sturnira lilium to understand their potential differentiated food preferences. The Sampling effort it was from April/2013 to March/2014. Animals captured in mist nets were identified in the field and maintained in cotton bags for 30… Show more
“…1). All the low crude protein values ( A ) come from a single study 12 . For P. aduncum , P. dumosum , and P. lanceolatum , protein values ( A 2 ) are lower than crude protein values.…”
Frugivorous bats often possess short intestines, and digest rapidly. These characters are thought to be weight-saving adaptations for flight. The hypothesis that they limit digestive efficiency was tested by assaying glucose and protein in fecal samples of a free-ranging bat, and in fruit of its main food plant. To assure the correct calculation of digestive efficiencies, seeds were used as a mass marker for nutrients in fruit and feces. Glucose represents 32.86%, and protein 0.65%, of the nutrient content of fruit. Digestive efficiencies for these nutrients respectively are 92.46% and 84.44%, clearly negating the hypothesis for glucose. Few studies have quantified protein in fruit. Instead, “crude protein”, a dietary parameter solely based on nitrogen determinations, is used as a surrogate of protein content. This study shows that, for fruit consumed by bats, crude protein estimates typically are much greater than true protein values, implying that a large fraction of the crude protein reported in previous studies consists of free amino acids. The rapid digestion of frugivores has the potential to limit protein digestion, thus it may require free amino acids for efficient assimilation of nitrogen; therefore, the crude protein approach is inadequate for the fruit that they consume because it does not differentiate free amino acids from protein. Adding simple sugars and free amino acids, instead of protein, to fruit reduce metabolic costs for plants. Direct assimilation of these small nutrient molecules increases digestive and foraging efficiencies. Both factors contribute to the persistence of the mutualism between plants and frugivores, with community-wide repercussions.
“…1). All the low crude protein values ( A ) come from a single study 12 . For P. aduncum , P. dumosum , and P. lanceolatum , protein values ( A 2 ) are lower than crude protein values.…”
Frugivorous bats often possess short intestines, and digest rapidly. These characters are thought to be weight-saving adaptations for flight. The hypothesis that they limit digestive efficiency was tested by assaying glucose and protein in fecal samples of a free-ranging bat, and in fruit of its main food plant. To assure the correct calculation of digestive efficiencies, seeds were used as a mass marker for nutrients in fruit and feces. Glucose represents 32.86%, and protein 0.65%, of the nutrient content of fruit. Digestive efficiencies for these nutrients respectively are 92.46% and 84.44%, clearly negating the hypothesis for glucose. Few studies have quantified protein in fruit. Instead, “crude protein”, a dietary parameter solely based on nitrogen determinations, is used as a surrogate of protein content. This study shows that, for fruit consumed by bats, crude protein estimates typically are much greater than true protein values, implying that a large fraction of the crude protein reported in previous studies consists of free amino acids. The rapid digestion of frugivores has the potential to limit protein digestion, thus it may require free amino acids for efficient assimilation of nitrogen; therefore, the crude protein approach is inadequate for the fruit that they consume because it does not differentiate free amino acids from protein. Adding simple sugars and free amino acids, instead of protein, to fruit reduce metabolic costs for plants. Direct assimilation of these small nutrient molecules increases digestive and foraging efficiencies. Both factors contribute to the persistence of the mutualism between plants and frugivores, with community-wide repercussions.
“…Em nosso estudo encontramos nas fezes de A. lituratus sementes de S. sisymbriifolium F. insipida, C. pachystachya e C. glaziovii (Tabela 1). Recentemente, para a região do Parque Estadual do Godoy, em Londrina, Batista et al (2017) demonstram que a dieta de A. lituratus é rica não apenas em carboidratos, mas também em lipídeos e proteínas. Frutos de todas as plantas registradas no presente estudo demonstraram conter em sua composição elevadas concentrações de carboidratos e lipídios e ainda pequenas concentrações de proteínas (BATISTA et al, 2017).…”
Section: Discussionunclassified
“…Recentemente, para a região do Parque Estadual do Godoy, em Londrina, Batista et al (2017) demonstram que a dieta de A. lituratus é rica não apenas em carboidratos, mas também em lipídeos e proteínas. Frutos de todas as plantas registradas no presente estudo demonstraram conter em sua composição elevadas concentrações de carboidratos e lipídios e ainda pequenas concentrações de proteínas (BATISTA et al, 2017). Sendo assim, para uma espécie de grande porte, como A. lituratus, e que realiza vários incursos a diferentes árvores, o consumo de frutos de determinadas espécies de plantas fornecem energia, principalmente de carboidratos, que suprem as demandas de alta energia gasta durante a atividade de busca de alimento durante o voo (VOIGT et al, 2010;BATISTA et al, 2017).…”
Morcegos são conhecidos por sua importância na regulação dos ecossistemas e no seu envolvimento na polinização e na dispersão de sementes. Espécies de morcegos fitófagos como, por exemplo, Artibeus lituratus ocupam com frequência áreas alteradas ou até mesmo regiões urbanas. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a dieta de A. lituratus no campus da Universidade Estadual de Londrina, um fragmento florestal com alta interferência antrópica. Foram realizadas quatro coletas mensais, entre outubro de 2012 e setembro de 2013, utilizando quatro redes de neblina por noite. Os animais foram identificados em campo e acondicionados em sacos de algodão por 30 minutos a fim de serem obtidas amostras de fezes para a análise de sua dieta. Foram coletados 86 indivíduos, que forneceram 42 amostras fecais. Os resultados indicam que a dieta de A. lituratus é composta principalmente por frutos de Cecropiaceae e Moraceae. A amplitude de nicho trófico foi maior nos meses de março, agosto e setembro de 2013, porém não ocorreram diferenças significativas na dieta entre as estações do ano (H = 0,3002, p = 0,96). A preferência por espécies pioneiras na dieta de A. lituratus pode ser um indicativo do seu importante papel na restauração de fragmentos florestais mesmo em ambientes urbanos.
“…Behavioral studies of frugivorous bats provide evidence that these animals require a variety of food plants to meet their nutritional requirements, including fruit, nectar, pollen, leaves and petioles [ 8 , 9 , 11 – 18 ]. Nutritional studies of frugivorous bat species have primarily focused on macronutrient content [ 12 , 13 , 19 – 21 ] and only a handful of studies reported micronutrient content of food plants consumed by flying-foxes [ 8 , 14 – 16 ] and the short-nosed fruit bat ( Cynopterus sphinx ) [ 17 ], limiting our ability to accurately predict nutrient requirements. Nutrient analysis of native food plants would provide evidence for how flying-foxes met their nutritional requirements historically and how the introduction of alien food plants might impact the nutrition of insular flying-foxes.…”
Habitat loss and alteration are two of the biggest threats facing insular flying-foxes. Altered habitats are often re-vegetated with introduced or domestic plant species on which flying-foxes may forage. However, these alien food plants may not meet the nutritional requirements of flying-foxes. The critically endangered Christmas Island flying-fox (CIFF; Pteropus natalis) is subject to habitat alteration and the introduction of alien food plants, and therefore is a good model species to evaluate the potential impact of alien plant species on insular flying-foxes. In this study, we evaluated nutritional content of native food plants to determine how flying-foxes historically met their nutritional requirements. Furthermore, we compared the nutritional content of native and alien fruits to predict possible impacts of alien plants on insular flying-foxes. Native and alien fruits and flowers, and native foliage (leaves, petals, and petioles) commonly consumed by the CIFF were collected and evaluated for soluble sugars, crude protein, non-fiber carbohydrates, and nine minerals. Evaluation of native food plants suggests that flying-foxes meet energy requirements by consuming fruit and nectar. However, fruit and nectar are low in protein and essential minerals required for demanding life periods; therefore, flying-foxes likely supplement their diets with pollen and foliage. Thus, flying-foxes require a diverse array of plants to meet their nutritional requirements. Compared to native fruits, alien fruits contained significantly higher non-fiber carbohydrates, and this may provide an important energy source, particularly from species that bear fruit year-round. Median mineral concentrations in alien fruit species, however, were deficient compared to native fruits, suggesting major (or even seasonal) shifts in the proportion of alien species in the CIFF diet could lead to nutritional imbalances. This study confirms the need to quantify nutritional parameters in addition to feeding ecology when evaluating habitat quality to inform conservation actions that can be applied both locally and globally.
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