Response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.

Human activities have negatively impacted many species, particularly those with unique traits that restrict their use of resources and conditions to specific habitats. Unfortunately, few studies have been able to isolate the individual and combined effects of different threats on population persiste...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Gloriana Chaverri, Thomas H Kunz
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/dd2f58f9665349688de13e72dbf967d3
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:dd2f58f9665349688de13e72dbf967d3
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:dd2f58f9665349688de13e72dbf967d32021-11-18T07:31:44ZResponse of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0028821https://doaj.org/article/dd2f58f9665349688de13e72dbf967d32011-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22216118/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Human activities have negatively impacted many species, particularly those with unique traits that restrict their use of resources and conditions to specific habitats. Unfortunately, few studies have been able to isolate the individual and combined effects of different threats on population persistence in a natural setting, since not all organisms can be associated with discrete habitat features occurring over limited spatial scales. We present the results of a field study that examines the short-term effects of roost loss in a specialist bat using a conspicuous, easily modified resource. We mimicked roost loss in the natural habitat and monitored individuals before and after the perturbation to determine patterns of resource use, spatial movements, and group stability. Our study focused on the disc-winged bat Thyroptera tricolor, a species highly morphologically specialized for roosting in the developing furled leaves of members of the order Zingiberales. We found that the number of species used for roosting increased, that home range size increased (before: mean 0.14±SD 0.08 ha; after: 0.73±0.68 ha), and that mean association indices decreased (before: 0.95±0.10; after: 0.77±0.18) once the roosting habitat was removed. These results demonstrate that the removal of roosting resources is associated with a decrease in roost-site preferences or selectivity, an increase in mobility of individuals, and a decrease in social cohesion. These responses may reduce fitness by potentially increasing energetic expenditure, predator exposure, and a decrease in cooperative interactions. Despite these potential risks, individuals never used roost-sites other than developing furled leaves, suggesting an extreme specialization that could ultimately jeopardize the long-term persistence of this species' local populations.Gloriana ChaverriThomas H KunzPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 12, p e28821 (2011)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Gloriana Chaverri Thomas H Kunz Response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.
description	Human activities have negatively impacted many species, particularly those with unique traits that restrict their use of resources and conditions to specific habitats. Unfortunately, few studies have been able to isolate the individual and combined effects of different threats on population persistence in a natural setting, since not all organisms can be associated with discrete habitat features occurring over limited spatial scales. We present the results of a field study that examines the short-term effects of roost loss in a specialist bat using a conspicuous, easily modified resource. We mimicked roost loss in the natural habitat and monitored individuals before and after the perturbation to determine patterns of resource use, spatial movements, and group stability. Our study focused on the disc-winged bat Thyroptera tricolor, a species highly morphologically specialized for roosting in the developing furled leaves of members of the order Zingiberales. We found that the number of species used for roosting increased, that home range size increased (before: mean 0.14±SD 0.08 ha; after: 0.73±0.68 ha), and that mean association indices decreased (before: 0.95±0.10; after: 0.77±0.18) once the roosting habitat was removed. These results demonstrate that the removal of roosting resources is associated with a decrease in roost-site preferences or selectivity, an increase in mobility of individuals, and a decrease in social cohesion. These responses may reduce fitness by potentially increasing energetic expenditure, predator exposure, and a decrease in cooperative interactions. Despite these potential risks, individuals never used roost-sites other than developing furled leaves, suggesting an extreme specialization that could ultimately jeopardize the long-term persistence of this species' local populations.
format	article
author	Gloriana Chaverri Thomas H Kunz
author_facet	Gloriana Chaverri Thomas H Kunz
author_sort	Gloriana Chaverri
title	Response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.
title_short	Response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.
title_full	Response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.
title_fullStr	Response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.
title_full_unstemmed	Response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.
title_sort	response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2011
url	https://doaj.org/article/dd2f58f9665349688de13e72dbf967d3
work_keys_str_mv	AT glorianachaverri responseofaspecialistbattothelossofacriticalresource AT thomashkunz responseofaspecialistbattothelossofacriticalresource
_version_	1718423317626486784

Response of a specialist bat to the loss of a critical resource.

Ejemplares similares