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- Title
RÉGIME ALIMENTAIRE DE ROUSETTUS MADAGASCARIENSIS (CHIROPTERA: PTEROPODIDAE) DANS LA RÉSERVE SPÉCIALE D'ANKARANA, NORD DE MADAGASCAR.
- Authors
VOLOLONA, Judith; RAMAVOVOLOLONA, Perle; GOODMAN, Steven M.
- Abstract
Old World fruit bats (family Pteropodidae) are known for their important function within tropical forest ecosystems. Madagascar's fruit bats, all endemic and including Pteropus rufus, Eidolon dupreanum and Rousettus madagascariensis, play at least two different roles in plant and forest ecology, pollination of flowers and dispersal of seeds. Although fruit and pollen are known to be consumed by these bats, little information is available on the diet of R. madagascariensis, the smallest of the three. To examine dietary aspects of R. madagascariensis, this study was conducted during the dry (September and November 2016) and wet (February and April 2017) seasons in the Réserve Spéciale d'Ankarana. Two methods were evaluated: analysis of pollen within feces of captured bats and analysis of fruit and seed remains from feces collected from the cave and below the day roost. In total, 15 plant species were identified, including four introduced taxa. Among these, four plant species were recorded for the first time in the diet of Malagasy pteropodids: Capurodendron ankaranense (Sapotaceae) and Crotalaria berteroana, Parkia madagascariensis and Senna ankaranensis (Fabaceae). Plant species consumed by R. madagascariensis at Ankarana include the pollen of nine taxa and the fruit of six other taxa. These bats show a preference for the pollen of an endemic plant, P. madagascariensis (39.0%) and an exotic plant, Ceiba pentandra (17.1%), as well as the fruit of the exotic Solanum mauritianum (31.0%) and native Ficus polita (24.1%). These results suggest that Rousettus madagascariensis is a generalist that feeds both on flowers and fruits of endemic and exotic plants. These bats are thought to be effective pollinators and dispersers of consumed plants, which include native and non-native species.
- Publication
Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de France, 2020, Vol 145, Issue 4, p365
- ISSN
0037-962X
- Publication type
Article