The Devil or A Guardian?
A Study of the Puerto Rican Bats
Reference
Arita, H. T., & Santos-Del-Prado, K. (1999). Conservation biology of nectar-feeding bats in Mexico. Journal of Mammalogy, 80(1), 31-41. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/1383205
Gannon, M. R., Kurta, A., Rodriguez-Duran, A., & Willig, A. R. (2005). Bats of Puerto Rico: an island focus and a Caribbean perspective. Texas Tech University Press.
Greenhall, A. M. & Schmidt U. (1988). Natural history of vampire bats, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. ISBN 0-8493-6750-6; ISBN 978-0-8493-6750-2
Hagen, E. & Deviche, S. (n.d.). Human, bird, and bat bone comparison. Retrieved from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/human-bird-and-bat-bone-comparison
Kanopy. (2012). Bat city USA. Retrieved from http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017.12/1677022
Puerto Rico. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2017, from http://wikitravel.org/en/Puerto_Rico
Rodriguez-Duran, A., & Feliciano-Robles, W. (2015). Impact of wind facilities on bats in the neotropics. Acta Chiropterologica, 17(2), 365-370. doi:10.3161/15081109ACC2015.17.2.012
Villa-C., B. & Canela-R., M. (1988). Man, gods, and legendary vampire bats. Natural history of vampire bats, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. 234-40
Wilson, D. E. (2014, December 09). Bat. Retrieved December 09, 2014 from Encyclopaedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/animal/bat-mammal/Form-and-function
by Clara
Challenges
Pesticides
Bats fatalities
Wind facilities
Maybe some other challenges as well...
Ecological role
Disease
Rabies -- fur-bearing mammals
My fault?
Controlling the number of insects
We are much more dangerous than you thought!!!
Classification & Distribution
One bat can eat insects about one-third of its own weight each time
Seed dispersers and pollinators
Types
Over 150 plant species around the world are now depending on bats for reproduction and pollination
Noctilio Leporinus
- Noctilio Leporinus (fish, insects)
- Pterenotus Quadridens (insects)
- Pteronotus Parnellii (insects)
- Mormoops Blainvillii (insects)
- Eptesicus Fuscus (insects)
- Lasiurus Borealis (insects)
- Tadarida Brasiliensis (insects)
- Molossus Molossus (insects)
- Brachyphylla Cavernarum (insects, fruits)
- Artibeus Jamaicensis (fruits, leaves)
- Stenoderma Rufum (fruits)
- Erophylla Sezekorni (fruits, nectar)
- Monophyllus Redmani (nectar)
Distribution
Bats in Guajataca State Forest
Artibeus jamaicensis
- Pterenotus quadridens
- Pteronotus parnellii
- Mormoops blainvillii
- Brachyphylla cavernarum
- Artibeus jamaicensis
- Erophylla sezekorni
- Monophyllus redmani
Lasiurus borealis
Brachyphylla Cavernarum
Vampire myth and truth
Bats = The messenger of the night?
Evil?
Vampire?
Puerto Rico
(tropical marine climate)
- Abundant sunshine
- Year-round high temperature
- Plenty of rain
Do vampire bats really exist?
Vampire bats
Mammal - bats
Yes, they do!
Hairy-legged vampire bat
There are birds, fish, reptiles, invertebrates, and mammals.
Common vampire bat
White-winged vampire bat
- Only 13 species of native terrestrial mammals on Puerto Rico, all of which are bats.
- 6 species are endemic
- Bats are the only type of mammals that spontaneously appear on this island.
None of them have been discovered on Puerto Rico!
What are bats
Basic Characteristics
Fun facts
Why hanging upside down?
Arm bones comparison
Using the inertia of falling to take off
World records
Bats are the only flying mammal on the earth
Bats are one of the longest-living mammals in the world for their size
Bats have the lowest breeding speed for their size in mammalian animals.
Special habits
Nocturnal animal
An interesting study
- Cannot bear strong sunlight and heat
- Their natural enemies, lizards and snakes, are mainly diurnal — active during the day
- Many insects come out at dark
Hibernation?
- In high latitudes, there are not enough food resources during the winter
- Bats live on Puerto Rico do not need to hibernate.
Chiropteran: winged mammals