Reproductive Dynamics of the Nectarivorous Geoffroy's Tailless BatAnoura geoffroyi(Glossophaginae) in a Highland Neotropical Area of Brazil, with Evidence of a Mating Period

Abstract

This study investigated the reproductive dynamics of a colony of Geoffroy's tailless bat (Anoura geoffroyi), an important pollinating bat, in a highland area of Southeastern Brazil. The colony was monitored each month from November 2014 to December 2015 with 154 males and 117 females captured. Testicular and ovarian histological data from 31 adult males and 22 adult females were obtained. Body condition index of male and female, and gonadosomatic index, epididymis-somatic index and Sertoli cell efficiency were analyzed. Females with spermatozoa in uterine crypts, embryos in oviducts, gravid uteri, and pregnant females were registered during the rainy season (November-March) and into the beginning of the following dry season (April), indicating asynchrony of births. The ovaries showed all types of ovarian follicles, and a polarized ovary cortex was found, differing from the organization pattern of most mammals. The testes showed continuous spermatic activity, but testicular parameters analyzed showed significantly higher values during the rainy season. A shorter mating period during the beginning of this season was detected, when values of the gonadosomatic and epididymis-somatic indexes, and Sertoli cell efficiency showed more pronounced differences in relation to the remaining period of study. Unlike polyestry known for some Neotropical phyllostomids, the reproductive cycle of A. geoffroyi was characterized as seasonal monoestrous, with the main reproductive events occurring during the rainy season, as the best time for females to reproduce, but with offspring recruitment occurring predominantly during the dry season, a period with fewer food resources.