Insects Detected in Guano from Several Local Species of Bats
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Biotic and abiotic factors play an important role in the make-up structure of a community. Typically, resource partitioning occurs when competition occurs, like in insectivorous bat species in North American. These species in North America rely on the use of echolocation and flight to forage for food. Since these bat species feed on the same prey and use the same methods of hunting there may be a partitioning of resources in habitats where multiple species occur. Bats account for 1/5th of mammal species and can be found throughout the world. They generally eat insects, fruit, flowers, and other small animals but this can vary from population to population since their feeding ecology is not truly understood. Competition for food resources among bat species can impact the diet of individual bat species in different areas. Often, the range and habitats of many bat species overlaps. Since these bat species compete for the same resources there should only be a few species in each habitat. Although, often many species can be found in the same habitat. Molecular techniques will allow a catalog to be created describing what individual bats have been eating. From feces, DNA can be extracted, and the DNA barcode for the insects they have consumed can be obtained. Then what a bat feeds on in certain areas during different times of the year can be delineated and compared.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CSM - Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Thomas McElroy
Insects Detected in Guano from Several Local Species of Bats
Biotic and abiotic factors play an important role in the make-up structure of a community. Typically, resource partitioning occurs when competition occurs, like in insectivorous bat species in North American. These species in North America rely on the use of echolocation and flight to forage for food. Since these bat species feed on the same prey and use the same methods of hunting there may be a partitioning of resources in habitats where multiple species occur. Bats account for 1/5th of mammal species and can be found throughout the world. They generally eat insects, fruit, flowers, and other small animals but this can vary from population to population since their feeding ecology is not truly understood. Competition for food resources among bat species can impact the diet of individual bat species in different areas. Often, the range and habitats of many bat species overlaps. Since these bat species compete for the same resources there should only be a few species in each habitat. Although, often many species can be found in the same habitat. Molecular techniques will allow a catalog to be created describing what individual bats have been eating. From feces, DNA can be extracted, and the DNA barcode for the insects they have consumed can be obtained. Then what a bat feeds on in certain areas during different times of the year can be delineated and compared.