Meeting Abstract
The evolution of differences in the sensory system can create new dimensions to ecological niches and allow resource partitioning and potentially diversification in bats. Neotropical leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are one of the most ecologically diverse groups of mammals. They have a wide range of diets, foraging styles and extreme morphological variation in their sensory structures (i.e. nose leaves and ears). To date, there have been few broad comparative analyses focusing on how morphological differences of the sensory system evolve, and how they functionally affect echolocation parameters in foraging bats. This is a significant knowledge gap because morphological differences can affect fitness via their effect on prey capture performance. We use phyllostomid bats to address one important question about the sensory evolution of bats: how does the morphological diversity of external sensory structures map onto ecological diversity? We assess the role of foraging ecology as a selective force on the morphology of nose leaves and ears, and use these data to illuminate the drivers of ecological diversity in this group. Our analyses contrast the results from two- and three- dimensional morphometric data, collected using traditional methods and micro-CT scanning for a varied sample of phyllostomid species. We find dimensions of the horseshoe, one section of the nose leaf, explains most of the variation among species, and there are significant differences in morphology among dietary groups. Post hoc analyses indicated that nectarivores, sanguivores and frugivores differ from one another in nose leaf morphology. This study provides insight into how the morphology of the sensory system could shape bat ecology in an extremely diverse lineage of bats.
