Carneiro Lucas de Oliveira, Mellado Breno, Nogueira Marcelo Rodrigues, Cruz-Neto Ariovaldo Pereira da, Monteiro Leandro Rabello
Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Departamento de Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brasil.
Integr Zool. 2023 Sep;18(5):876-890. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12707. Epub 2023 Feb 9.
Studies on functional performance are important to understand the processes responsible for the evolution of diversity. Morphological trait variation within species influences the energetic cost of locomotion and impacts life history traits, with ecological and evolutionary consequences. This study examined wing morphology correlates of flight performance measured by energetic expenditure in the Seba's short-tailed bat, Carollia perspicillata. In the flight experiments, nature caught bats (59 females, 57 males) were allowed to fly for 3 min in a room. After each flight, thermographic images were taken to measure body temperature, and biophysical models were used to calculate sensible heat loss as a measure of energetic expenditure. Wing morphological traits were measured for each individual and associated with heat loss and power required to fly on performance surfaces. Wing morphological traits explained 7-10% of flight energetic cost, and morphologies with the best performance would save the energy equivalent to 9-30% of total daily requirements. The optimal performance areas within the C. perspicillata morphospace were consistent with predicted selection trends from the literature. A trade-off between demands for flight speed and maneuverability was observed. Wing loading and camber presented sexual dimorphism. These morphological differences are likely associated with more economical but less maneuverable flight in females, leading them to fly more often in open areas along the forest edge. Our findings demonstrate how small scale changes in wing morphology can affect life history strategies and fitness.
对功能表现的研究对于理解导致多样性进化的过程很重要。物种内部的形态特征变异会影响运动的能量消耗，并影响生活史特征，具有生态和进化方面的后果。本研究调查了在佩氏长舌蝠（Carollia perspicillata）中，通过能量消耗来衡量的飞行表现与翅膀形态之间的相关性。在飞行实验中，将野外捕获的蝙蝠（59只雌性、57只雄性）放入一个房间中飞行3分钟。每次飞行后，拍摄热成像图像以测量体温，并使用生物物理模型计算显热损失，作为能量消耗的一种度量。对每个个体的翅膀形态特征进行测量，并将其与热损失以及在性能表面上飞行所需的功率相关联。翅膀形态特征解释了飞行能量消耗的7%-10%，具有最佳性能的形态能够节省相当于每日总需求量9%-30%的能量。佩氏长舌蝠形态空间内的最佳性能区域与文献中预测的选择趋势一致。观察到在飞行速度和机动性需求之间存在权衡。翼载荷和弯度呈现出性别二态性。这些形态差异可能与雌性更经济但机动性较差的飞行有关，导致它们更频繁地在森林边缘的开阔区域飞行。我们的研究结果表明翅膀形态的微小变化如何能够影响生活史策略和适应性。
