Diet of three mormoopid bats (mormoops blainvillei, pteronotus quadridens, and pteronotus portoricensis ) on Puerto Rico

Author

Ashley K. Rolfe

Date Approved

2011

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department or School

Biology

Committee Member

Allen Kurta, Ph.D. Chair

Committee Member

Daniel Clemans, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jamin Eisenbach, P.h.D.

Abstract

This study used visual analysis to determine the percent volume and percent frequency of orders of insects in the guano of the Antillean ghost-faced bat (Mormoops blainvillei), sooty mustached bat (Pteronotus quadridens), and Puerto Rican mustached bat (Pteronotus portoricensis). The most common orders for all three species were Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera, although the relative proportions of these orders differed among species. Variation in diet was primarily due to species, but season, habitat, and sex also affected the composition of insects in the feces. In addition, species-level identification of prey was achieved through molecular techniques that examined mitochondrial DNA isolated from fragments of arthropods contained within the guano of M. blainvillei and P. quadridens. A total of 18 and 6 species of insect were identified to species for M. blainvillei and P. quadridens, respectively, and nine of these species were either pests of agricultural crops or vectors of human disease.