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Calcium as a limiting resource to insectivorous bats: can water holes provide a supplemental mineral source?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2003

Rick A. Adams ,
Scott C. Pedersen ,
Katherine M. Thibault ,
Jenna Jadin  and
Brad Petru
Rick A. Adams
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, U.S.A.
Scott C. Pedersen
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, U.S.A.
Katherine M. Thibault
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, U.S.A.
Jenna Jadin
Affiliation:
Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A.
Brad Petru
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, U.S.A. Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Data are presented on a bat assemblage captured among 10 water holes in Colorado over 5 years. The assemblage consists of Myotis ciliolabrum, M. evotis, M. lucifugus, M. thysanodes, M. volans, Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus cinereus, Lasionycteris noctivagans and Corynorhinus townsendii. Results show that reproductive females and juveniles are captured in higher frequencies at water holes containing higher water hardness and that water hardness correlates highly significantly with dissolved calcium content. Also presented are laboratory test data on the stomach volume of Eptesicus fuscus that provide a model for understanding the effect of dissolved calcium content in water as a significant resource. These data indicate that water holes provide supplemental sources of calcium for bats not provided by diet.

Keywords

calciumbatsColoradoabiotic factorsVespertilionidaeMyotis
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Zoology , Volume 260 , Issue 2 , February 2003 , pp. 189 - 194
Copyright
© 2003 The Zoological Society of London

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