Abstract
Monthly observations were made at a natural roosting site of Cynopterus sphinx, with a view to the behavior of males being observed over a period of one year. Here, we report seasonal, daily and inter-individual variation in three communicative behaviors engaged in by male bats. The frequency of male behaviors identified as scent-marking, vigorous wing-flapping and the making of an openwing gesture were found to vary seasonally, depending on the reproductive status of conspecific females in the study colony. The duration of scent-marking was markedly high during mating seasons, in comparison with wing-flapping and wing-gesturing. In mating seasons, the pattern to the daily variation in behavior correlated strongly with the gender of the responder present in the diurnal roost and/or colony. For instance, scent-marking and vigorous wing-flapping were more frequent during late-evening and early-morning hours, mostly when females were absent from the day roost, while male-male encounters were possible. In con...
Published Version
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