Meeting Abstract

88-5  Monday, Jan. 6 11:30 – 11:45  Ancestral Generalization as a Potential Gateway to Rapid Dietary Divergence in Neotropical Leaf-Nosed Bats HALL, R P*; MUTUMI, G L; HEDRICK, B P; YOHE, L R; SADIER, A; DAVIES, KTJ; DáVALOS, L M; ROSSITER, S J; SEARS, K; DUMONT, E R; University of California, Merced; University of California, Merced; Louisiana State University; Yale University; University of California, Los Angeles; Queen Mary University of London; Stony Brook University; Queen Mary University of London; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Merced rhall8@ucmerced.edu

Neotropical leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae), as a result of adaptive radiation, are a prime example for studying the evolution of sensory morphology. They exhibit diverse and unique feeding strategies among bats. Using diceCT scans of 79 specimens, representing 35 species of phyllostomids and 10 outgroup species, within the superfamily Noctilionoidea, we analyzed the link between volumes of three sensory structures (olfactory bulb, orbits, and cochleae) and diet. We hypothesized that frugivory and nectarivory are associated with enlarged olfactory bulbs and orbits. We predicted that the sensory profile of modern plant-eating bats first appeared in the ancestral phyllostomid. We found that only frugivory is linked to large olfactory bulbs and orbits. The phyllostomid ancestor had larger olfactory bulbs and orbits than its ancestor and outgroups. This study shows that an ancestral shift in sensory morphology associated with diet predated, and possibly enabled, the diversification seen in Phyllostomidae.