Abstract
Variation in the frequencies of occurrence of arthropod prey taxa in dietary samples collected from nine syntopic species of vespertilionid bats was quantitatively examined. Interspecific variation in the utilization of coleopterans and hemipterans was found. Myotis leibii, M. lucifugus, M. evotis, M. thysanodes, Lasionycteris noctivagans , and Eptesicus fuscus frequently consume beetles and M. volans, Idionycteris phyllotis , and Lasiurus cinereus do not. Among-species variation in the utilization of hemipterans is the result of a high frequency of occurrence in samples from L. noctivagans contrasting with low frequencies in samples from the remaining eight species. Temporal heterogeneity was found in the frequencies of five prey taxa (coleopterans, hemipterans, neuropterans, hymenopterans, and homopterans) in the dietary samples. Among-months variation in the frequencies of hemipterans and beetles appears to be due, at least in part, to sampling bias. Neuropterans and hymenopterans occurred more frequently in samples from 1980 than in samples from 1979, while temporal variation in the utilization of homopterans appears to be the result of relatively heavy exploitation of this prey taxon on a single night.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
