Social structure of the harem-forming promiscuous fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx, is the harem truly important?

ABSTRACT: Bats are social animals and display a diverse variety of mating and social systems, with most species exhibiting some form of polygyny. Their social organization is fluid and individuals frequently switch partners and roosting sites. While harem-like social organization is observed in multiple tropical species, its importance is contested in many of them. In this study, we investigated the role of harems in the social organization of the old world fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx. Based on regular behavioural observations over a period of 20 months and genetic data from microsatellite markers, we observed that the social organization is flexible, individuals regularly shift between roosts and the social organization resembles a fission-fusion society. Behavioural and genetic analyses sug

SUBMITTER: Garg KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5830788 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature