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| The Impacts of Light on Frugivorous Bat Foraging Behavior |
| Lauren A. Norwood1, Mary Heather B. Jingco1, Luisa F. G�mez-Feuillet1, M. May Dixon1,2, Jay J. Falk1,3, Logan S. James1,4, Rachel A. Page1. 1Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Col�n, Panama; 2Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States; 3Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States; 4Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States |
Light patterns have shaped the evolution of animal behavior for billions of years, but these patterns are becoming increasingly disrupted by anthropogenic light, which is rapidly spreading into more remote spaces. Researchers have begun investigating the influence a brighter world may have on wildlife populations, especially for nocturnal species. For example, the behavior of many bat species has been shown to be strongly influenced by light levels, both natural (e.g., moon cycles) and anthropogenic. In this experiment, we sought to understand whether Neotropical frugivorous bats display behavioral plasticity for foraging in brighter environments based on their previous experience with natural and anthropogenic light. We captured individuals from bat populations whose roosts differed in brightness, and presented them with a food retrieval task in an artificially lit space and in an unlit space. Using a comparative approach, we discuss our results in the context of species’ roosting behavior and emergence time, both of which may impact conservation in these and other nocturnal species. |