Agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservation
Abstract Wildlife conservation involves making management decisions with incomplete knowledge of ecological relationships. Efforts to augment foraging resources for the endangered Mexican long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) are progressing despite limited knowledge about the species' foragin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11125 |
| _version_ | 1797244923640020992 |
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| author | Kristen M. Lear Clinton T. Moore Elizabeth G. King Emma Gómez‐Ruiz Jose Juan Flores Maldonado Cuauhtemoc Ibarra Sanchez Ana Castañeda Aguilera Thomas J. Prebyl Jeffrey Hepinstall‐Cymerman |
| author_facet | Kristen M. Lear Clinton T. Moore Elizabeth G. King Emma Gómez‐Ruiz Jose Juan Flores Maldonado Cuauhtemoc Ibarra Sanchez Ana Castañeda Aguilera Thomas J. Prebyl Jeffrey Hepinstall‐Cymerman |
| author_sort | Kristen M. Lear |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Wildlife conservation involves making management decisions with incomplete knowledge of ecological relationships. Efforts to augment foraging resources for the endangered Mexican long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) are progressing despite limited knowledge about the species' foraging behavior and requirements. This study aimed to understand L. nivalis responses to floral resource availability, focusing on individual agave‐ and local‐scale characteristics influencing visitation rates to flowering agaves. We observed bat visitation at 62 flowering agaves around two roosts in northeast Mexico on 46 nights in the summers of 2017 and 2018. We found visitation rate had positive relationships with two agave‐scale characteristics: the number of umbels with open flowers and the lower vertical position on the stalk of those umbels (i.e., earlier phenological stages of flowering). However, these factors exhibited strong negative interaction: with few umbels with open flowers, the position of flowering umbels had little effect on visitation rate, but when umbels with open flowers were abundant, visitation rate was more strongly related to the lower flowering umbel position. We also found relationships between visitation rate and two local‐scale characteristics: negative for the density of flowering conspecifics within 30 m of the focal agave and positive for the density of dead standing agave stalks within 30 m. Our findings suggest opportunities to augment foraging resources for L. nivalis in ways that are consistent with their foraging behavior, including: increasing the supply of simultaneously blooming flowers by planting agave species that tend to have more umbels with simultaneously open flowers; planting multiple species of agaves with different flowering times to increase the availability of agaves with open flowers on lower‐positioned umbels throughout the period when bats are present in the region; planting agaves in clusters; and keeping dead standing agave stalks on the landscape. Our study points to useful management strategies that can be implemented and monitored as part of an adaptive management approach to aid in conservation efforts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:18:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8847a439fc894421a808b117c2d865d4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:18:43Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-8847a439fc894421a808b117c2d865d42024-03-26T04:26:58ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-03-01143n/an/a10.1002/ece3.11125Agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservationKristen M. Lear0Clinton T. Moore1Elizabeth G. King2Emma Gómez‐Ruiz3Jose Juan Flores Maldonado4Cuauhtemoc Ibarra Sanchez5Ana Castañeda Aguilera6Thomas J. Prebyl7Jeffrey Hepinstall‐Cymerman8Bat Conservation International Austin Texas USAWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USAWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USAParque Ecológico Chipinque, A.B.P. San Pedro Garza García Nuevo León MexicoEspecies, Sociedad y Hábitat, A.C. Apodaca Nuevo León MexicoEspecies, Sociedad y Hábitat, A.C. Apodaca Nuevo León MexicoEspecies, Sociedad y Hábitat, A.C. Apodaca Nuevo León MexicoWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USAWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USAAbstract Wildlife conservation involves making management decisions with incomplete knowledge of ecological relationships. Efforts to augment foraging resources for the endangered Mexican long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) are progressing despite limited knowledge about the species' foraging behavior and requirements. This study aimed to understand L. nivalis responses to floral resource availability, focusing on individual agave‐ and local‐scale characteristics influencing visitation rates to flowering agaves. We observed bat visitation at 62 flowering agaves around two roosts in northeast Mexico on 46 nights in the summers of 2017 and 2018. We found visitation rate had positive relationships with two agave‐scale characteristics: the number of umbels with open flowers and the lower vertical position on the stalk of those umbels (i.e., earlier phenological stages of flowering). However, these factors exhibited strong negative interaction: with few umbels with open flowers, the position of flowering umbels had little effect on visitation rate, but when umbels with open flowers were abundant, visitation rate was more strongly related to the lower flowering umbel position. We also found relationships between visitation rate and two local‐scale characteristics: negative for the density of flowering conspecifics within 30 m of the focal agave and positive for the density of dead standing agave stalks within 30 m. Our findings suggest opportunities to augment foraging resources for L. nivalis in ways that are consistent with their foraging behavior, including: increasing the supply of simultaneously blooming flowers by planting agave species that tend to have more umbels with simultaneously open flowers; planting multiple species of agaves with different flowering times to increase the availability of agaves with open flowers on lower‐positioned umbels throughout the period when bats are present in the region; planting agaves in clusters; and keeping dead standing agave stalks on the landscape. Our study points to useful management strategies that can be implemented and monitored as part of an adaptive management approach to aid in conservation efforts.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11125agavesbat conservationendangered speciesforaging analysisMexican long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis)restoration |
| spellingShingle | Kristen M. Lear Clinton T. Moore Elizabeth G. King Emma Gómez‐Ruiz Jose Juan Flores Maldonado Cuauhtemoc Ibarra Sanchez Ana Castañeda Aguilera Thomas J. Prebyl Jeffrey Hepinstall‐Cymerman Agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservation Ecology and Evolution agaves bat conservation endangered species foraging analysis Mexican long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) restoration |
| title | Agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservation |
| title_full | Agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservation |
| title_fullStr | Agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservation |
| title_short | Agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservation |
| title_sort | agave distribution and floral display influence foraging rates of an endangered pollinating bat and implications for conservation |
| topic | agaves bat conservation endangered species foraging analysis Mexican long‐nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) restoration |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11125 |
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