Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America.
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, England, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2020 May 11;15(5):e0232601. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232601. eCollection 2020.
Morphological variation between individuals can increase niche segregation and decrease intraspecific competition when heterogeneous individuals explore their environment in different ways. Among bat species, wing shape correlates with flight maneuverability and habitat use, with species that possess broader wings typically foraging in more cluttered habitats. However, few studies have investigated the role of morphological variation in bats for niche partitioning at the individual level. To determine the relationship between wing shape and diet, we studied a population of the insectivorous bat species Pteronotus mesoamericanus in the dry forest of Costa Rica. Individual diet was resolved using DNA metabarcoding, and bat wing shape was assessed using geometric morphometric analysis. Inter-individual variation in wing shape showed a significant relationship with both dietary dissimilarity based on Bray-Curtis estimates, and nestedness derived from an ecological network. Individual bats with broader and more rounded wings were found to feed on a greater diversity of arthropods (less nested) in comparison to individuals with triangular and pointed wings (more nested). We conclude that individual variation in bat wing morphology can impact foraging efficiency leading to the observed overall patterns of diet specialization and differentiation within the population.
个体之间的形态变异可以增加生态位隔离，减少种内竞争，当异质个体以不同的方式探索环境时。在蝙蝠物种中，翅膀形状与飞行机动性和栖息地利用相关，通常具有更宽翅膀的物种在更杂乱的栖息地觅食。然而，很少有研究调查蝙蝠形态变异在个体水平上的生态位分割中的作用。为了确定翅膀形状和饮食之间的关系，我们研究了哥斯达黎加干燥森林中食虫蝙蝠物种 Pteronotus mesoamericanus 的一个种群。使用 DNA 代谢组学来确定个体的饮食，并用几何形态测量分析来评估蝙蝠的翅膀形状。翅膀形状的个体间变异与基于 Bray-Curtis 估计的饮食差异以及生态网络中嵌套性呈显著相关。与具有三角形和尖形翅膀的个体（嵌套性更高）相比，具有更宽和更圆形翅膀的个体发现它们以更大的节肢动物多样性为食（嵌套性更低）。我们得出结论，蝙蝠翅膀形态的个体变异可以影响觅食效率，从而导致种群内饮食专业化和分化的整体模式。
