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1 December 2002 Feeding Habits of the Endangered Ozark Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens) Relative to Prey Abundance
David M. Leslie Jr., Brenda S. Clark
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Abstract

Feeding habits of the endangered Ozark big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens) in eastern Oklahoma, USA, were studied from July 1987 through July 1988. Diets were determined from microscopic analysis of fecal pellets and compared with arthropods collected in Malaise traps. Although lepidopterans comprised only 21.5% of the available prey, they occurred in > 90% of the pellets examined and accounted for > 85% of the volume of prey consumed. Dipterans, coleopterans, and homopterans occurred in 18.3%, 10.6%, and 6.7% of the feces, respectively, but each accounted for < 5% of the volume of prey consumed. Trichopterans, hymenopterans, and neuropterans also were found in feces but in trace amounts. Our results support the classification of C. t. ingens as a moth specialist, but additional insights are needed to fully understand how its feeding tactics conform to the allotonic frequency hypothesis (i.e., avoiding detection by eared moths). Conservation of this highly endangered North American bat will require, in part, maintenance of habitats capable of supporting abundant populations of Lepidoptera.

© Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS
David M. Leslie Jr. and Brenda S. Clark "Feeding Habits of the Endangered Ozark Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens) Relative to Prey Abundance," Acta Chiropterologica 4(2), 173-182, (1 December 2002). https://doi.org/10.3161/001.004.0206
Received: 7 June 2002; Accepted: 1 October 2002; Published: 1 December 2002
KEYWORDS
allotony
endangered species
feces
Feeding habits
Lepidoptera
Oklahoma
Ozark big-eared bat
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