Meeting Abstract
Predator detection and avoidance are important behaviors that dictate the success of animal species and that can alter foraging behavior. Frugivorous and nectarivorous bats play key roles in tropical ecosystems as both seed dispersal agents and pollinators, but little is known about how they identify the presence of predators. I investigated the use of vision, echolocation, and olfaction by frugivorous and nectarivorous bats in Monteverde (Costa Rica) in detecting predators while foraging for food. Nectar and fruit feeder stations with and without predator cues were set up in an indoor flight cage. Bat visitation and nectar consumption at each feeder were recorded during ten 10-min observation periods. Predator cues included a clay model snake and odors in leaf bedding from an eyelash palm pit viper cage. Based on both the number of visits and quantity of nectar consumed, nectarivorous bats avoided feeders with either visual or olfactory predatory cues, whereas fruit bats appeared to rely more heavily on olfaction than vision or echolocation for predator avoidance. These findings suggest that the bats use the same sensory modalities to detect predators as they do to locate food.
