Nutrient availability predicts frugivorous bat abundance in an urban environment
2016
Jara-Servín, Angelica M. | Saldaña-Vázquez, Romeo A. | Schondube, Jorge E.
We used a mathematical model based on nutrient availability to predict Artibeusjamaicensis densities in urban parks of a tropical city. Nutrient availability was calculated based on bat-fruit density and the carbohydrate, nitrogen and fats they contain. In addition to nutrient availability, our model considered the capacity of this frugivorous bat to assimilate the nutrients present in the environment. We compared our predictions with bat captures obtained in the same urban parks, in which we measured nutrient availability. Our results show that A. jamaicensis densities were limited by the quantity of nitrogen available in urban parks. Our density-predicting models, based on soluble carbohydrates and fats available, overpredicted the number of A. jamaicensis individuals. Our result indicates that to maintain healthy bat populations in cities, it is important to take into account not only the variety of food available but also its nutrient content and how easy it is for the bat to assimilate them.
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