Abstract
General insights into the causes and effects of social structure can be gained from comparative analyses across socially and ecologically diverse taxa, such as bats, but long-term data are lacking for most species. In the neotropical fringe-lipped bat, Trachops cirrhosus, social transmission of foraging behaviour is clearly demonstrated in captivity, yet its social structure in the wild remains unclear. Here, we used microsatellite-based estimates of relatedness and records of 157 individually marked adults from 106 roost captures over 6 years, to infer whether male and female T. cirrhosus have preferred co-roosting associations and whether such associations were influenced by relatedness. Using a null model that controlled for year and roosting location, we found that both male and female T. cirrhosus have preferred roosting partners, but that only females demonstrate kin-biased association. Most roosting groups (67%) contained multiple females with one or two reproductive males. Relatedness patterns and recapture records corroborate genetic evidence for female philopatry and male dispersal. Our study adds to growing evidence that many bats demonstrate preferred roosting associations, which has the potential to influence social information transfer.
Highlights
Social structure can have profound behavioural and evolutionary consequences, but correctly interpreting social structure requires royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos R
We used data from bats captured in their roosts over a 6-year period to characterize the group composition and social structure of fringe-lipped bats
Our results suggest that the majority of T. cirrhosus roost either in all-male groups or in single-male/multi-female groups
Summary
Social structure can have profound behavioural and evolutionary consequences, but correctly interpreting social structure requires royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos R. Aggregations can occur passively when individuals are 2 attracted to a common resource, such as a roosting site, or when specific individuals preferentially associate more than expected from mere co-attraction to resources [1,2]. These preferred associations can often occur even in animals demonstrating fission–fusion social dynamics, in which temporary groups of variable size and composition frequently break up and reform Dispersal by one sex can lead to kin-biased associations in the philopatric sex [5], and these kin-biased associations can be adaptive when the indirect fitness benefits of kin cooperation are not outweighed by increased kin competition [6]
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