Temporal patterns of resource use by the short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae)

Abstract

The short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae), is a common plant-visiting bat that is widely distributed throughout the Indomalayan region. We quantified foraging behavior of C. sphinx as individuals fed on fruits of Annona squamosa, leaves of Cassia fistula and Mimusops elengi, and fruits and leaves of Coccinia indica. After making several circling flights and engaging in brief hovering bouts, bats typically land directly on a single fruit and remove all or part of it with the mouth. In contrast, individuals remove leaves from trees during flight, without landing or hovering. C. sphinx typically transports fruits and leaves to feeding roosts where it extracts soluble contents and expels fibrous spats beneath day and feeding roosts. This bat consumes mostly fruits upon emergence from day roosts and feeds on leaves later in the night. These temporal differences in nightly foraging behavior may reflect the higher water and carbohydrate (energy) contents of fruits, compared with leaves, and help sustain flight activity throughout the night.