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Roost making by bats has been widely reported throughout the tropics, with several species, including two species of Old World fruit bats, modifying plant parts to form shelters, known as “tents”. The construction of these tents has often been attributed to the males, and is believed to be associated with the attraction of females. Although most tents are constructed from large leafed plants, particularly palms, a number of recent studies have shown that other plant parts can also be used, including stems, roots, and even large clusters of fruit (Bhat & Kunz 1995). But, until now, the phenomenon of roost making by bats has always been associated with materials of plant origin. In a PhD study jointly funded by Lubee Bat Conservancy, researcher Rob Hodgkison has recently discovered that the spotted-winged fruit bat breaks the rules – it is the first Old World fruit bat known to construct its “tents” within the active nests of social insects, including the arboreal nests of ants and termites (Hodgkison et al. 2003a).
The precise manner in which the tents are constructed is not known. But, as with other tent-making bats, it is likely that spotted-winged fruit bats use their teeth and jaws to hollow out the soft interior chambers of the nests to form smooth, bell-shaped cavities . In some cases, these cavities can be large enough to hold up nine female bats and their dependent young, along with the single harem male. Similar roost cavities are also formed within the root masses of epiphytic plants, including birds' nest ferns and one species of wild ginger.
Thus, these resources provide male spotted-winged fruit bats with all they need to protect their harems and offspring from wind, rain, and sun, and conceal them from potential predators, such as birds of prey, snakes, and civets. The quality of the tent may also determine the reproductive success of the male, since females may select tents according to the depth, width, or general condition of the cavity. Thus, a good cavity may be well worth defending. It is interesting to note, therefore, that males spend significantly more time around their roost sites at night, and are more faithful to a single site than females. Whether the male's efforts are rewarded by more offspring, however, is currently unknown.
The spotted-winged fruit bat ( Balionycteris maculata ) belongs to the family Pteropodidae, which includes all of the Old World fruit bats or flying foxes. Weighing only 13.5 grams, it is one of the smallest species in the family. The spotted-winged fruit bat is found throughout Peninsular Malaysia and northern and western Borneo, with other scattered records in southern Thailand and Sumatra , where it lives in tropical rainforests from sea level to approximately 1500 meters elevation. It is the only species of Malaysian fruit bat to be most active within the forest understory (Hodgkison et al. in press), where its cryptic markings and dark coloration provide excellent camouflage, particularly in the deep shade of its roost cavity. Spotted-winged fruit bats give birth to up to two litters per year, with one pup born per litter. Pups are born with their eyes and ears closed, and weigh approximately 3.5 grams. Gestation, or pregnancy, lasts for approximately 135 days, and pups feed on their mother's milk for between 40 and 80 days (Hodgkison 2001). Females and free-flying juveniles often travel together, suggesting that pups may learn how to forage from their mothers. In the wild, spotted-winged fruit bats have a maximum life expectancy of at least four years (Hodgkison 2001).
In Peninsular Malaysia, the spotted-winged fruit bat is an important seed disperser (Hodgkison 2003b), and feeds on the fruits of at least 22 species of plants—nearly all of which are restricted to old-growth rainforest. Thus, the conservation of this species, like several other species of Malaysian fruit bats (Hodgkison et al. submitted), is likely to be severely threatened by deforestation.
BHAT, H. R. & KUNZ, T. H. 1995. Altered flower/fruit clusters of the kitual palm used as roosts by the short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae). Journal of Zoology ( London ) 235:597-604.
HODGKISON, R. 2001. The ecology of fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in a Malaysian lowland dipterocarp forest, with particular reference to the spotted-winged fruit bat ( Balionycteris maculata , Thomas). Ph.D. thesis. University of Aberdeen , Scotland . 189 pp.
HODGKISON, R., BALDING, S. T., ZUBAID, A. & KUNZ, T. H. 2003a. Roosting ecology and social organization of the spotted-winged fruit bat, Balionycteris maculata (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae), in a Malaysian lowland dipterocarp forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 19:667-676.
HODGKISON, R., BALDING, S. T., ZUBAID, A. & KUNZ, T. H. 2003b. Seed dispersal by fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in a Malaysian lowland rain forest. Biotropica 35: 491-502.
HODGKISON, R., BALDING, S. T., ZUBAID, A. & KUNZ, T. H. In press. Habitat structure, wing morphology, and the vertical stratification of Malaysian fruit bats. Journal of Tropical Ecology.
HODGKISON, R., BALDING, S. T., ZUBAID, A. & KUNZ, T. H. Submitted. Temporal variation in the diet and population abundance of fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in a lowland Malaysian rain forest. Biotropica.
KUNZ, T. H. & LUMSDEN, L. F. 2003. Ecology of cavity and foliage roosting bats. Pp. 3-89 in Kunz, T. H. & Fenton, M. B. (eds.). Bat ecology . University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
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