Bat Ecology & Genetics Lab, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America.
Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 Apr 5;17(4):e0265968. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265968. eCollection 2022.
The spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum), the largest bat species in the Americas, is considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and is listed as a species of special concern or endangered in several countries throughout its range. Although the species is known as carnivorous, data on basic ecology, including habitat selection and primary diet items, are limited owing to its relative rarity and difficulty in capturing the species. Leveraging advances in DNA metabarcoding and using radio-telemetry, we present novel information on the diet and movement of V. spectrum based on locations of a radio-collared individual and fecal samples collected from its communal roost (three individuals) in the Lowland Dry Forest of southern Nicaragua. Using a non-invasive approach, we explored the diet of the species with genetic markers designed to capture a range of arthropods and vertebrate targets from fecal samples. We identified 27 species of vertebrate prey which included birds, rodents, and other bat species. Our evidence suggested that V. spectrum can forage on a variety of species, from those associated with mature forests to forest edge-dwellers. Characteristics of the roost and our telemetry data underscore the importance of large trees for roosting in mature forest patches for the species. These data can inform conservation efforts for preserving both the habitat and the prey items in remnants of mature forest required by Vampyrum spectrum to survive in landscape mosaics.
光谱蝙蝠（Vampyrum spectrum）是美洲最大的蝙蝠物种，被国际自然保护联盟列为近危物种，并在其分布范围内的多个国家被列为特别关注或濒危物种。尽管该物种被认为是肉食性的，但由于其相对稀有性和捕捉难度，有关其基本生态学的数据，包括栖息地选择和主要食物项目，都很有限。利用 DNA 代谢组学的进展，并结合无线电遥测技术，我们根据一只佩戴无线电项圈的个体的位置和从其在尼加拉瓜南部低地干燥森林的公共栖息地（三只个体）收集的粪便样本，提供了有关 V. spectrum 饮食和移动的新信息。我们采用非侵入性方法，利用从粪便样本中捕获各种节肢动物和脊椎动物目标的遗传标记，探索了该物种的饮食。我们确定了 27 种脊椎动物猎物，包括鸟类、啮齿动物和其他蝙蝠物种。我们的证据表明，V. spectrum 可以捕食各种物种，包括与成熟森林相关的物种、森林边缘的物种。栖息地的特征和我们的遥测数据强调了大型树木对该物种在成熟森林斑块中栖息的重要性。这些数据可以为保护该物种所需的成熟森林残余栖息地及其猎物提供信息，以帮助其在景观镶嵌体中生存。
