Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama City, Panama.
Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.
PLoS One. 2018 Oct 24;13(10):e0205351. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205351. eCollection 2018.
Bats transition from flightless, milk-sustained infants to volant, foraging juveniles in the span of a few weeks to a few months. This rapid development is accompanied by fast growth and weight gain, but behavioral development remains poorly understood. We addressed development of maternal support and pup independence for Peters' tent-making bat (Uroderma bilobatum) in light of population level reproductive patterns. Uroderma bilobatum exhibited seasonal bimodal polyoestry at our study site. Births occurred over one month within a reproductive bout, resulting in variable levels of behavioral development for pups in the same maternity group. Pups reached adult forearm length more quickly than adult mass, facilitating the ontogeny of flight. Maternal support consisted of nursing and thermoregulation, transporting pups between night and day roosts, and milk provisioning between foraging bouts. We did not observe provisioning with solid food. Pups interacted only with their own mother. Between 25 to 40 days into a reproductive bout they matured by suckling progressively less and fledging over multiple nights in a two-stage process assisted by mothers. We describe several parturition events as well as a novel form of stereotyped tactile stimulation involving forearm pulses by mothers against suckling pups that may serve to promote weaning. Rapid behavioral changes in both pups and mothers accompany pup morphological development through maturation.
蝙蝠在数周至数月的时间内，从不会飞行、依赖乳汁的幼仔转变为会飞行、觅食的幼崽。这种快速发育伴随着快速的生长和体重增加，但行为发育仍知之甚少。我们根据种群水平的繁殖模式，研究了皮特氏果蝠（Uroderma bilobatum）的母性支持和幼崽独立性的发展。皮特氏果蝠在我们的研究地点表现出季节性双峰多胎生殖。生育发生在一个繁殖期内的一个月内，导致同一母性群体的幼崽在行为发育方面存在差异。幼崽的前臂长度增长速度快于成年体重，这有利于它们的飞行发育。母性支持包括哺乳和体温调节、在夜间和白天的栖息地之间运送幼崽，以及在觅食之间提供乳汁。我们没有观察到固体食物的供应。幼崽只与自己的母亲互动。在繁殖期的 25 到 40 天内，它们通过逐渐减少吮吸，以及在母亲的帮助下，经过多个晚上的试飞，逐渐成熟。我们描述了几个分娩事件，以及一种涉及母亲用前臂脉冲对吮吸幼崽进行刻板的触觉刺激的新形式，这可能有助于断奶。幼崽和母亲的快速行为变化伴随着幼崽形态发育的成熟。
