Dissertation Research: Chemical Ecology in the Chiroptera

昆兹9801137蝙蝠是高度社会性的哺乳动物，对于具有复杂社会结构的物种来说，个体识别是重要的。在蝙蝠中，视觉、听觉、触觉和嗅觉线索的组合被用来评估个体、栖息地和群体成员。虽然听觉和视觉系统已经得到了很好的研究，但有趣的是，哺乳动物的嗅觉系统却很少受到关注。本研究的目的是确定蝙蝠嗅觉交流的重要性，并将这一知识应用于保护和害虫管理。行为测试将确定嗅觉在小棕色蝙蝠(Myotis Lucifugus)和大棕色蝙蝠(Eptesicus Fuscus)亲缘识别中的作用。雌性经常在大群中栖息，在其中它们必须识别自己的幼崽。Y-迷宫测试将让雌性在亲缘气味和外来气味之间做出选择，以确定嗅觉是否在这些物种的母子识别中发挥作用。行为分析将为研究嗅觉在蝙蝠社会互动中的作用奠定基础。将收集选定蝙蝠气味的化学分析，以评估气味化学是否反映了相关物种的进化史，并将被用于测试人类嗅觉作为蝙蝠化学交流探针的潜在用途。气味的成分将用气相色谱嗅觉仪(GCO)进行分析。GCO结合行为测试有望成为研究哺乳动物行为生态学的重要工具，并为研究蝙蝠的引诱提供重要途径，蝙蝠作为昆虫的传粉者和捕食者具有重要的经济意义。

Kunz 9801137 Bats are highly social mammals, and for species with complex social structures, individual recognition is important. Among bats, a combination of visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory cues are used to assess individuals, roost sites, and colony members. While auditory and visual systems have been well studied, interestingly the olfactory system of mammals has received little attention. The purpose of the present study is to establish the importance of olfactory communication in bats, and to apply this knowledge for conservation and pest management. Behavioral tests will identify the role of olfaction in kin recognition in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Females often roost in large colonies in which they must identify their own pups. Y-maze test will present females with choices between kin and foreign scents to establish whether olfaction plays a role in mother-pup recognition in these species. Behavioral assays will set the stage for the investigation of the role of olfaction in the social interactions of bats. Chemical analysis of odors from selected bats will be collected to assess whether odor chemistry mirrors the evolutionary history among related species and will be used to test the potential use of human olfaction as a probe into chemical communication in bats. Constituents of odors will be analyzed using gas chromatograpahy olfactometry (GCO). GCO coupled with behavioral tests is expected to emerge as an important tool for investigating mammalian behavioral ecology and provide important avenues for research into the attraction of bats which are economically important as pollinators and predators of insect pests.