Seasonal Foraging Behavior of the Frugivorous Bat Carollia perspicillata

Abstract

We studied the foraging behavior of the frugivorous bat Carollia perspicillata (Phyllostomidae) during two dry seasons and two wet seasons in northwestern Costa Rica using radio-telemetry and capture-recapture techniques. Seasonal changes occur in both quantitative and qualitative aspects of this bat's foraging behavior, primarily as a result of changes in the density and distribution of food. Compared to bats in the wet season, bats fly greater distances to harvest fruit, are concentrated in fewer resource patches, change general feeding locations more frequently, and are more sensitive to moonlight conditions in the dry season. In both seasons, bats show high short-term fidelity to the 2–3 feeding areas they visit each night. Food distributions, predator risk, and, in males, social status, influence the foraging behavior of C. perspicillata.