Pronounced Seasonal Changes in the Movement Ecology of a Highly Gregarious Central-Place Forager, the African Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) migrate over vast distances across the African continent, probably following seasonal bursts of resource availability. This causes enormous fluctuations in population size, which in turn may influence the bats' impact on local ecosystems. We studied the movement ecology of this central-place forager with state-of-the-art GPS/acceleration loggers and concurrently monitored the seasonal fluctuation of the colony in Accra, Ghana. Habitat use on the landscape scale was assessed with remote sensing data as well as ground-truthing of foraging areas.

Principal findings

During the wet season population low (~ 4000 individuals), bats foraged locally (3.5-36.7 km) in urban areas with low tree cover. Major food sources during this p

SUBMITTER: Fahr J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4605647 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature