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Avoidance of predator chemical cues by bats: an experimental assessment

Avoidance of predator chemical cues by bats: an experimental assessment Avoidance of predator chemical cues by bats: an experimental assessment Justin G. Boyles 1,2) & Jonathan J. Storm 3) ( 1 Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation, Department of Ecology and Organismal Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA; 3 Department of Ecology and Organismal Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA) (Accepted: 4 June 2007) Summary Predation places selection pressure on the behaviour of organisms, but the effect of predation risk on bat behaviour has gone largely untested. Using a Y-maze, we tested the hypothesis that female big brown bats ( Eptesicus fuscus ) avoid olfactory cues from known predators — raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) and black rat snakes ( Elaphe obsoleta ). These chemical cues are most likely encountered by bats during the assessment of potential roost sites, so avoidance of predator cues could affect roost selection. We found that big brown bats do not avoid cues from raccoon urine and there was a non-significant trend for bats to choose the arm with black rat snake cues. In a second experiment, bats were exposed to olfactory and potentially auditory cues of live black rat snakes. Bats tended to avoid the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Behaviour Brill

Avoidance of predator chemical cues by bats: an experimental assessment

Boyles, Justin; Storm, Jonathan
Behaviour , Volume 144 (9): 14 – Jan 1, 2007
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0005-7959
eISSN
1568-539X
DOI
10.1163/156853907781871806
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Avoidance of predator chemical cues by bats: an experimental assessment Justin G. Boyles 1,2) & Jonathan J. Storm 3) ( 1 Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation, Department of Ecology and Organismal Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA; 3 Department of Ecology and Organismal Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA) (Accepted: 4 June 2007) Summary Predation places selection pressure on the behaviour of organisms, but the effect of predation risk on bat behaviour has gone largely untested. Using a Y-maze, we tested the hypothesis that female big brown bats ( Eptesicus fuscus ) avoid olfactory cues from known predators — raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) and black rat snakes ( Elaphe obsoleta ). These chemical cues are most likely encountered by bats during the assessment of potential roost sites, so avoidance of predator cues could affect roost selection. We found that big brown bats do not avoid cues from raccoon urine and there was a non-significant trend for bats to choose the arm with black rat snake cues. In a second experiment, bats were exposed to olfactory and potentially auditory cues of live black rat snakes. Bats tended to avoid the

Journal

Behaviour – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2007

Keywords: CHEMOSENSATION; ANTI-PREDATOR BEHAVIOUR; EPTESICUS FUSCUS; OLFACTION; CHIROPTERA

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