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The implications of food hardness for diet in bats

  1. L. F. Aguirre1,*,
  2. A. Herrel2,
  3. R. Van Damme2,
  4. E. MatThysen2

Article first published online: 23 APR 2003

DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2435.2003.00721.x

Issue

Functional Ecology

Functional Ecology

Volume 17, Issue 2, pages 201–212, April 2003

Additional Information

How to Cite

Aguirre, L. F., Herrel, A., Van Damme, R. and MatThysen, E. (2003), The implications of food hardness for diet in bats. Functional Ecology, 17: 201–212. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2435.2003.00721.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Centro de Biodiversidad y Genetica, Universidad Mayor San Simon, PO Box 538, Cochabamba, Bolivia, and

  2. 2

    University of Antwerp, Department Biological Sciences, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Belgium

* †Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: laguirre@fcyt.umss.edu.bo

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 23 APR 2003
  2. Article first published online: 23 APR 2003
  3. Received 30 May 2002; revised 30 August 2002; accepted 21 September 2002

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Keywords:

  • Bite force;
  • Chiroptera;
  • feeding

Summary

  • 1
    Neotropical bat communities are characterized by a broad species diversity, which can be achieved and maintained only through partitioning of the available resources.
  • 2
    Here patterns of trophic resource utilization within a single neotropical savanna bat community are investigated. Moreover, the physical properties of food items (i.e. hardness), its variation with food size, and whether food hardness differs between items consumed by the bats in this community are investigated experimentally.
  • 3
    The results show that food hardness increases with the size of the food item, and that distinct differences exist in the amount of force needed to crush different food items (beetles vs other insects vs fruits).
  • 4
    Using previously published data on bite forces from species in the same community it is explored whether food hardness may play a role in shaping the diets of the bats in the community. The combined data on bite forces and food hardness indicate that food hardness can both directly and indirectly limit dietary diversity in bats.
  • 5
    The results also indicate that dietary specialization may potentially result in a decrease in trophic breadth for some species through its effect on bite performance.
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